The Quintessential Quintos

2011-07-21T13:06:00.007-05:00

The last time my parents were in town we took a short trip down to Houston. We really had a great time! We went to the Downtown Aquarium and the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch and then we went to a baseball game. The Houston Astros (Chris' favorite team) played the St. Louis Cardinals (the Stater Family's favorite team) and of course we had a good time especially since the Cards won! Here are some pics from the Aquarium-

Marker Boy

2011-07-09T00:05:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite children's authors is Robert Munsch. I have almost his whole collection of books. He writes very whimsical funny stories, all except I'll Love You Forever. I'm still not sure where that one came from but I love it too. One of the class favorites was Purple, Green and Yellow.

It's about a little girl named Brigid and the coloring markers she begs her mom to buy her. Mom is against the idea as she "Knows what kids do with markers. They color on the floor and the walls and themselves." I won't spoil the story for you but it is a delightful tale and I highly recommend it but for children five and up as younger children would only get more mischievous ideas from the book.

That brings us to today. I got an email from Lavonna titled "Little Marker Boy." I wasn't sure what the reference was too. My first thought was Little Drummer Boy, but the Robert Munsch book was in the back of my mind. I clicked on the attachment and this is what I saw.

Bryson, Little Marker Boy!

I sure hope those markers are not like the ones in the book, "super, indelible, never wash off until you're dead and maybe longer coloring markers."

Like the commercial says, "Where is your mother?!?!?"

Memorial Day Visit

2011-06-01T00:13:00.000-05:00

Courtney, Chris and Bryson came up for a visit last weekend. Chris' little brother was graduating from High School and his sister was having a baby shower. They originally had planned on staying a week as Chris had to get back for his first youth group trip with their new church. Lavonna talked Courtney (with Bryson) into staying an extra week. We all went to breakfast the other morning, but we haven't gotten to spend much time with them as Courtney has lots of family and friends to squeeze in before they leave on Saturday. Yesterday, Memorial Day, Courtney called in the afternoon to visit. She asked me "What are ya'll doing tonight?" I told her, "Nothing." Then she asked if we cared if she and Bryson came over to visit. I told her "No that would be fine. Why don't you come for dinner?" I just fixed a convenient meal. Nothing fancy. Lavonna, Courtney and Bryson came over. Mallory is at church camp too. Not sure what Brice was up too. We had a great visit. Then after dinner me, Lavonna and Courtney were trying Zumba on the Wii. At first Bryson and Kevin were playing baseball in the kitchen. I told Kevin, "Why don't you go out in the front yard?" I didn't have to ask twice. Bryson made a bee-line for the front door. Mind you the bat and ball are made of foam. I decided to bail on the Zumba and go out and take some photos. Bryson was so cute I decided I needed to get out the video camera. You can tell he is used to watching sports with his daddy. He has all the moves down pat. He was spitting, grunting and strutting like a professional ball player. We had a blast! Here are some photos and the video follows them. It's so bittersweet to get to see them as we know they will be leaving too soon.

Hey Batter, Batter! Swing!

Tag! You're Out Uncle Kevin!

I'm ready, got my eye on the ball.

Okay, my turn to pitch. A little spit should do the trick.

Right here Uncle Kevin! Right across the plate! In the Strike Zone please!

If I hold my tongue just right I'll smack it out of the yard!

I'm ready. Give me another one.

He swings! He misses! Strike one!

For some reason Blogger won't accept the video. I'll keep working on it and try to come back and add it later.

He's quite the little athlete for a two year old. I call him a "switch" hitter since he changes from a left hand stance to a right hand stance, but mostly he prefers his left. He's pretty good at pitching too. Until next time.

Linda

(aka Leelee to Bryson)

Easter 2011

2011-04-26T16:21:00.008-05:00

Easter this year was very different but it was wonderful! Normally Easter Sunday for us is very busy and filled with lots of family. So needless to say this year was a little quieter! On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we had Holy Week services with the youth. (check out Chris' blog for more about that) Friday afternoon we took a little trip to The Woodlands to do a some shopping and to see some of Chris' old friends. On Saturday we took Bryson to see Hop and then we went home and died eggs and had a practice egg hunt so he would be prepared for the real thing! Sunday morning our church had an Easter egg hunt for the kids and they had an Easter musical in the service! Bryson had so much fun at the egg hunt! He is a professional egg finder! After church we went to our pastor's house and had lunch with him and his family and after that we went home for naps! Even though we really miss our families and wish we could have spent Easter with them we really had a great weekend just us and our little family! The best part of our weekend though was getting to tell Bryson about why we really celebrate Easter! Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend as much as us! Here are some pictures of the past couple of days!

Bryson at his 1st movie!

ooops :)

Bryson with Jacee and Lexi! Look at that face!

and with the other kids from church

and with the pastor's kids and some new little friends

Our New Life!

2011-04-05T16:57:00.008-05:00

I thought that it would be much easier to blog once we got all settled in to our new life here in Huntington but the truth is I find it very hard to come up with things to write about. Our life is pretty much the same except for the fact that we are here and everyone else is not. We couldn't have asked for a better place to move to! The church and all the people are great, the trees are great and best of all the lack of wind is great! If you want to come visit just give us a call! We've got plenty of room!

Chris, Bryson and I are all adjusting very well! Bryson started potty training last week! He picked it up pretty quickly but I'm sure it will take a few months for him to get it 100%. He has made some new friends, Lexi, Jacee, Slade and Wyatt! He loves playing in the backyard and riding his bike! He is talking like crazy! He says I miss you but he really means I love you?! I'm not sure how he got it confused? I have started walking at 5 am with some of the ladies at church! Next week we start running! I'll keep you updated on how that's going, if I never talk about it again then it probably didn't go anywhere! I also have made some new friends! And I am in the process of planning something for the girls in our youth ministry here. I am very excited to get things going with that! We had a girls night the other night and went to dinner and came back to my house to watch a movie! It was a lot of fun! Chris is really adjusting to the new church very well! He fits in good with the staff members and is starting to plan a lot of fun things for youth this summer! He goes and plays basketball with some guys every week in the gym at our church. Other than that he just reads a lot and hangs out with me and Bryson!

*We can't forget about Embry! He is doing very good too! He is having fun playing in the yard!*

Here are some pictures of our trip to the Lufkin Zoo! Bryson and I went with some new friends of ours for a play date!

This is Bryson's friend Slade!

Well that's all I've got for now! I will try very hard to keep the blog updated and to remember to take more pictures!

Courtney and Chris' New Home

2011-02-21T23:05:00.000-06:00

Courtney and Chris are getting settled into their new home. They like it and like their new church home, but are missing everyone back in the Panhandle. Bryson is really loving playing outside in his big backyard and the weather is very nice. They live just around the corner from the church so Chris walks to work. Courtney told me they had about 40 youth come for last Wednesday night service. They posted these photos on Facebook but since not everyone has Facebook I told them I would repost the photos on the blog. I know they would love to hear from everyone. Last week Darla, Lavonna and I all Skyped with them. It was fun and I recommend it. You should try it. Enjoy the photos and leave a comment for them.
Linda

These photos are in random order. This is the backyard. There is another one in the group from Lavonna of Bryson and Mallory playing on his swing set. He loves that thing and wants to play outside all the time.

Bryson's bathroom. Courtney and Chris' looks similiar. A bathroom is a bathroom.

The garage had been converted into a bonus room and that is now Bryson's playroom. Big enough for his trampoline.

Bryson's bedroom. Look at that big boy bed.

Courtney and Chris' room.

The dining room or breakfast nook. Since I haven't been there I don't know. Maybe Courtney or Chris can clarify for us.

The front of the house. Definitely a ranch rambler.

Mallory and Bryson playing on his new swingset.

View one of the kitchen.

View two of the kitchen.

View three of the kitchen.

And the final view of the kitchen.

The living room.

Embry checking out the outdoors through the living room windows.

Let's all load up the cars and vans and go see them. Any takers?

A Bittersweet Day

2011-02-11T00:37:00.000-06:00

Today was Chris, Courtney and Bryson's last day in Amarillo. I of course woke up with a headache and didn't get over to see them as soon as I had planned but we did make it over before they left. It's bittersweet because they are leaving, but also a good thing because they are going where God has directed them. They will be living about 8 and a half hours from here. The good news is they live really close to a nice large lake and Houston, Austin and Dallas. It will take some adjusting for all of us, but I know it will be a good thing. We will all miss them so much and will miss seeing Bryson growing and changing. I told Courtney she has to start blogging. So when you talk to her, remind her you are checking in and want to see photos of their new life. Here are some photos I took in the past month.

These first three are from a day in January when Courtney stopped by the house. Those are the days I will miss the most.

These are some I took at Bryson's 2nd Birthday Party.

He had a blast and really thought he was one of the big kids. He definitely tried to keep up with them.

I took these next few with my camera phone as believe it or not I forgot my good camera. Thankfully Kevin was sweet enough to go back home and get it for me.

Then after the birthday party our family went out to dinner. Again, Bryson thought he was one of the big boys, so he had to sit at the booth with his cousins, Dam*n and Azari*h.

And finally we get to today. This is what we saw when we turned the corner and I knew for sure it was real . . . they were moving away.

Chris's dad and step-mom were there to say their goodbyes too.

Bryson seemed to be a little freaked out about the whole situation and was not letting Courtney and Chris out of his sight.

Jackie giving Courtney a goodbye hug. The tears started about this time.

Jackie and Chris saying "Goodbye."

Chris' dad Jerry saying "Goodbye" to Chris and Bryson.

After this Kevin and I gave them hugs and told them we loved them and would see them soon. I just hate changes, but I wish them the best of luck in their new home and new church. We love you Chris, Courtney and Bryson.

Labor Day at Three Falls Cove

2010-09-16T21:41:00.000-05:00

Last year our family had a reunion over the Labor Day weekend at Three Falls Cove and everyone had such a great time we decided to do it again this year. Last year Courtney, Chris and Bryson were only able to come for a few hours as that was the same weekend Angela was getting married. This year they were able to come for one night and one day. Here are some photos from the weekend.

This is the lodge at Three Falls Cove. It is hard to believe it is only 45 minutes from home.

Chris and Bryson with other family members enjoying the paddle boats.

The zip-line is always a big hit. Here is Chris taking off.

And Chris dropping into the water.

Courtney decided to give it a try. Notice Chris giving her a little "push."

Courtney finally did step off the roof and made it safely back to shore. She even said it was fun.

I'll have to take her word for it.

Courtney and Bryson enjoying some fun time in the lake. Bryson loved his little boat.

Coming in after a swim. I love this photo of Courtney and Bryson.

Courtney enjoying the floating chair.

Cousin S*mi watching over Bryson. So sweet the way she was tenderly playing with his ear.

Serious boy. Looks like he was thinking, "Enough with the camera Leelee."

My most favorite photo of all. I loved this one. Bryson was cracking up at his daddy on the zip line. I bet by next year Bryson will be thinking he's big enough to try it.

A Growing Boy

2010-06-21T12:19:00.001-05:00

The other day, well actually two days in the past week, Courtney and Bryson have been over. I thought I'd post some photos for those of you that live out of town or don't Facebook so you can still see how Bryson is growing and changing into a little man. He is so precious and is all boy if there was every any doubt. He loves to play with the ball and is very good at kicking the soccer ball. I think he gets that from his daddy Chris. He is a little brown berry and has a great time playing in his wading pool in the back yard. I haven't been over to take pictures of that yet, but will before summer is over. Bryson likes to come over to Leelee's and Kevin's but only if Mom or Mallory are staying. Enjoy the photos.

This hat that came with a Lego set has seen lots of play over the years. This photo reminds me of another one of my favorites that I took of Kevin's nephew. You can see it here.

I love the look on his face. This would make a good "caption contest" photo. What do you think Bryson is thinking?

Dad in training . . . "Honey, not now. I'm watching the World Cup Series. Got my remote. Got my soccer ball. Yep. All ready."

This was a couple of days later. We went out in the front to play with bubbles. I'm pretty sure Bryson thinks Leelee and Uncle Kevin are pretty crazy. That look . . . . "What are you talking about Leelee?"

Bryson had a good time and was insistent that HE do the bubble making. He never did get it though, but sure had fun trying.

If one bubble wand is good, two must be better.

Forget the bubbles. Me and Uncle Kevin will just have a sword fight.

And my most favorite photo of all . . . my two favorite baby boys . . .Bryson and Hans.

Can you say "Awwwww." By the way that motion he is doing with his hand is his own invention for the sign for "more." I'm not sure what he wanted more of, but more of something.

As you can see Bryson is doing great and growing rapidly before our eyes into a fine young man. I love that kid.

Bryson's First Haircut

2010-05-17T16:28:00.000-05:00

Well, it seems Chris could stand it no longer and got the clippers after Bryson. I must admit I'm sad to see the curls go. The first haircut seems to be the stepping-off point from baby to little boy. Who knows why Chris did it? Maybe it's because people have been calling Bryson a girl. Maybe it's because people like me have been commenting on 'those cute curls.' Those words probably sound like nails on a chalkboard to Chris. He makes sure there is NO femininity around Bryson. Anyway, here is the picture I took off Courtney's Facebook page. It's not the best quality, but I'm sure it is from her iPhone. Anyway, you can be a witness to this first. So . . . . goodbye curls, hello little dude.

A Growing Boy

2010-04-24T22:09:00.000-05:00

Last week we visited South Georgia Baptist where Chris is the Youth Minister. After church, we were standing around trying to decide where to go eat lunch and Bryson struck out on his own. Chris caught up with him and grabbed his hand. Bryson didn't like that and started crying. After all he is one you know.

He made a break from dad as soon as he could. He ran crying looking for someone to help him.

He first ran to Ethan, but Ethan didn't know the signal for "Please pick me up. I'm being so mistreated."

Then Bryson spotted Blake and ran to him with arms stretched up. Blake knelt down to pick Bryson up.

It was so sweet. Bryson was just cuddling with Blake. Sweet boys. Cousins.

Bryson Is One

2010-02-14T22:43:00.007-06:00

It's official, Bryson is now one year old. We had his first birthday party last weekend and all the family came. There were about 40 people at the party and of course Bryson was the center of attention. I took some pictures the day before out at Courtney and Chris' house of Bryson eating his cake, and some of him playing in the snow. The next day more photos of Bryson at his party and eating more cake and opening presents. It was a great weekend for a very special young man. Happy Birthday Bryson!

I loved this photo I took of Bryson looking out the window watching his daddy shovel snow.

We went out to let Bryson experience the snow. He looks like such a big boy. I can't believe he has grown so much.

After playing in the snow for a few minutes we went in to let him have his birthday cake and make the biggest mess he wanted to. He knew exactly what to do. He dug in to the cake with both hands.

He kept looking up at Courtney as if to say, "Mom are you sure this is all right?"

Then we let in Bryson's puppy Embry. He immediately went right for the cake too. They were both covered in icing. I was worried they both might get sick from all the sugar. I guess they didn't. Courtney didn't ever say.

Then my favorite photo of the bunch. Bryson decided the icing on Embry looked pretty good, so he leaned over and started licking the dog. Priceless!

I told Courtney it looked like he was reading the ingredients. "Let me see. Yes, sugar, corn syrup, fructose, butter, eggs, milk. Mom are you sure I can have this?"

This is the next day at his official Birthday Party. The happy little family. Just think about where you were a year ago today. My how time flies. Cute cake by the way.

It's my birthday. It's all about me. I'm so cute.

That's my Nonna cutting my cake. Be sure and save me one with lots of icing.

Now it's time for presents. Didn't we just have Christmas? Wow! I'm one lucky boy.

More sugar. Thanks Aunt Angela. I like ice cream.

That's me with all the big kids. I'm a big kid now. At least I think so. Didn't I get some cool presents?

Aunt Leelee insisted I wear this silly hat. She had to be quick with the camera as I jerked that thing right off.

Ummmmm. Didn't we do this yesterday? I remember just what to do.

One thing we have learned about Bryson, he loves to sing. After the party when we were cleaning up, Chris turned on the P.A. and Bryson was just singing his little heart out. It was so cute.

That wraps it up. What a great day with family and friends. Thanks everyone.

In the past year...

2010-01-10T11:53:00.011-06:00

Well everyone, it has been one year since it all began, a year from yesterday was the day I got put on bed rest. Looking back at the past year I have realized how blessed we are... blessed with a wonderful family and a wonderful church family that prayed for us, fed us, loved us and who helped get us through the, what seemed like forever, five weeks I was on bed rest. Blessed to have those five extra weeks that allowed Bryson to grow bigger. Blessed with amazing doctors and nurses that cared for both me and Bryson. We are extremely blessed to be parents at all. Blessed that our 3 lb 13 oz baby has been strong and healthy from day one. I am blessed to be able to stay home and spend every single wonderful day with my little man. We are blessed that Bryson has fully caught up in size. Blessed that the first time he has been sick all year was when he was 11 months old! Blessed that the big bump he got on his noggin ended up to be nothing! And we have been blessed with a beautiful new home. We are very thankful for all of God's blessings, we are so undeserving!

On another note, it's so hard to believe that that tiny little baby is such a big boy now, learning how to walk and talk. Since I probably won't be posting again until after his birthday, I wanted to remind everyone to leave a comment for Bryson because I am going to attempt to print out all the posts that have been written throughout the year. I thought it would be neat to make him a book of his beginning because he had a very unforgettable one! I also wanted to post a few of my favorite pictures of him that we have taken in the last year. Enjoy! (and don't forget to leave your special notes to Bryson)

*** Update***

Bryson's party will be on Feb. 6 so put it on your calendars!

I will get the invitations out soon!

2009-11-29T21:03:00.006-06:00

Wow! I am so sorry it has been so long since we have posted. As most of you already know my daddy just built us a house and we have been busy settling in! We are all loving it but Bryson really enjoys being able to crawl around all over the house, and he is very good at getting into things he knows he can't have! He has two teeth on the bottom and I think he should be getting more soon! He learned how to say da-da, (of course he didn't say momma!) and he likes to go around and whisper it, which we think is pretty cute! Well other than that Bryson is growing like crazy, he pulls up on everything, and he can even stand by himself for a few seconds! It won't be long before he's walking around all over the place. We will try to update more often but with Christmas coming up we will probably be very busy! Happy Holidays to everyone!

Well It's Official

2009-10-12T11:12:00.002-05:00

Bryson is now 8 months old, crawling all over the place, and has his 2 front bottom teeth. Bryson is continuing to grow and get bigger and do everything a normal baby is supposed to do. About a week ago he really started being able to crawl. He has flirted with the idea of crawling alot in the last month but he finally went for it and now he crawls like an old pro. Somehow he knows the things that he is not supposed to play with, my iphone, the tv remote, plugs, and he always decides to go after those so our peace is now over (what little we had) because we have to be very careful where we let him crawl. On a different note, our new house is coming along nicely, if everything goes according to plan we could be in it in about 3 weeks. So we are excited about Bryson growing up and we are excited about our new house that is almost done!!!

Needing to Crawl, but Wanting to Walk

2009-09-12T12:43:00.002-05:00

Courtney, Chris and Bryson are living with Lavonna, Brice and Mallory right now while their new home is being built. I asked about the house yesterday and they said they were putting the shingles on. After they get the windows in, then the dry-walls will go up. I can't believe it's coming along so quickly. I know Courtney and Chris are anxious to have their own place. Bryson is doing great. They came up to Three Falls Cove for the family photo. They were not able to come for the weekend as Angela's wedding was the same weekend. Bryson is still gaining weight and doing well. He can now sit up for a few minutes on his own. He is not pulling up, but loves for someone to hold his hands and walk him around. Bryson can roll over and can actually push himself over a pillow, but still is not wanting to really crawl. We think he may be like his Grand Nonna and have his own version of crawling. (There's a video if anyone wants to see.) Bryson is now seven months old. Can you believe it? He will be a year before we know it.

Happy Six Months Birthday

2009-08-14T19:08:00.004-05:00

Well, Bryson is officially six months old now. It's hard to believe how much he has grown and changed. Actually he is a miracle baby. He had his six month visit to the doctor this week and now weighs 14lbs and is 25 inches long. He is just barely in the percentiles for a six month old, but is right on track for a four month old and since he was two months early he is doing great. He has started eating baby food and baby cereal and so far has like everything. The challenge is getting it past his tongue. You put it in and he promptly pushes it back out with his tongue. He wants to eat table food, but we keep telling him he needs some teeth first. He is trying to sprout some teeth, drooling like crazy, but so far nothing breaking through. He is almost sitting up by himself, but is still a little wobbly. He is not much interested in crawling, but wants to walk. If you force him to sit down, he arches his back and throws a fit until you stand him up again. Bryson is really a happy baby and all most always has a big smile on his face. He loves to give kisses, but fair warning, they are really juicy ones. Be sure and leave Bryson a birthday comment.

Bryson's Dedication

2009-08-09T22:17:00.004-05:00

Well, Bryson is officially six months old. Can you believe it? Today was his baby dedication at South Georgia Baptist where Chris is the youth pastor. When the pastor called for Bryson's family to come up to the front for his dedication, you should have see the surprised look on his face when he saw the crowd. I thought he knew that Chris' family is a large Italian family and our family is a clan. There were about twenty nine in our group! After the pastor called us up to the front, he gave Courtney and Chris a letter from him to Bryson to keep until the time he makes the decision to ask Christ into his life and a Bible. Next he told all of the family that it was our job and responsibility to guide Bryson, instruct him and pray for him, that he would ultimately become a follower of Christ. Of course I cried, but Bryson was a champion and smiled through the whole service. Here are some pictures I took for those of you that could not be there.

This was most of the family that went down to the front for the blessing.

All the family gathered around to lay hands on Bryson, Chris and Courtney to pray for them.

After church, mother suggested I take a four generation picture of Bryson, Chris, his dad Jerry, and his grandpa.

All in all it was a wonderful day.

A Day In The Life of Bryson

2009-07-31T19:18:00.005-05:00

Last week Chris was away at youth camp so I got to spend a lot of time with Courtney and Bryson. It was so much fun. Bryson is one week shy of six months! Can you believe it? He is really starting to develop his personality. He definitely doesn't like to lay back, he wants to be sitting up, standing in your lap with help or whoever is holding him to be up walking around. Laying down is for babies and he has definitely moved beyond that stage. He can now roll over from belly to back and almost from back to belly. He tries really hard to sit up, but is not quite strong enough. He drools constantly, but so far no teeth sprouting. He has now begun to eat some baby food and does the "What is that?" shudder very well. It's quite amusing to those of us around so we usually give him several tastes so we can have a good laugh. Anyway, here are some pictures I took of him last week while he was at the house.

First up, Mom and Bryson posing in front of the builder's sign where their new home will be. Hopefully they will be in by Christmas. Bryson wasn't near as excited as the rest of the family.

After we went out and saw the lot where their new house would be built we went to a drive through car wash. Bryson couldn't quite grasp what was going on. Look at those startled eyes! Of course we were all having a laugh at his expression. He never did cry, but when those big brushes would sweep by, he was definitely amazed.

After we got home, it was bath time. Bryson really loves his bath. Hopefully some day, he will forgive me for posting a nudie picture of him on the internet. I just love bath and water pictures though. He was just kicking and splashing and having a grand ole time and boy don't they smell sweet when they get out and get all lotioned up. Good enough to eat!

Bryson's first dose of sugar

2009-07-21T19:21:00.006-05:00

This past weekend, my older sister Darla came up for the weekend. On Sunday Courtney had called to see if I could keep Bryson for a little while. Of course I said "Yes!" I told Darla to come on over as she had been wanting to see Bryson while she was here. On her way over she stopped and bought Hester's boys and Bryson a ice cream shaped sucker. When we took the wrapper off and gave it to Bryson you'd have thought he had been eating them his whole life. He stuck that thing right in his mouth and went to town. He thought he was as big as Blake and Ethan. He kept checking out their suckers too. We were wondering if he noticed his was much smaller. We didn't let him eat much of it and when we took it away he kept looking for it and looking at the other boys as if to say, "That's not fair." He thoroughly enjoyed ever taste of it and here are photos to prove it. I don't know if you can see all the sticky goo on his face, but he was one icky-sticky mess and didn't care one bit!

Bryson Laughing

2009-07-15T00:11:00.004-05:00

Today Courtney and Bryson came over so Courtney could use my computer and printer. While we were all in the kitchen, Papi (Hester's puppy that mostly stays with us) started barking. It would startle Bryson and then he would just laugh. It was really cute so I ran and grabbed my video to try and catch it. Of course it's just one of those flip type cameras so the sound quality is not very good and Papi is very loud. To top it off Hester, Courtney and I were laughing at Bryson, but hopefully you can still enjoy it. Nothing sounds sweeter to me than a baby laughing and always brings a smile to my face. It's so awesome to see Bryson turning into a toddler and all the new things he can do. He also can turn over and I took video of that, but need to try to edit it some. It's hard to believe where Bryson started and how great he is doing now. God is good.

Don't forget to turn up your sound volume and leave Bryson a comment.

5 months old

2009-07-09T17:26:00.011-05:00

Well, Bryson is 5 months old and growing strong! Here are a few pictures showing how much he has grown in his 5 months here!

Ha Ha! That's a funny one!

P.S. Leave lots of comments!

What a Little Firecracker!!!

2009-07-05T22:39:00.007-05:00

Bryson is almost five months old, he will be in three days. We went out to Lavonna's, Bryson's Nonna, for the Fourth of July Celebration. We weren't sure what Bryson would think about it all, but he actually took it all in and seemed to be very curious about what was going on. He never did cry over all the noise and chaos. Bryson is eating cereal and Stage 2 baby food and loves every minute of it. Here are some pictures I took from the weekend.

The happy Quinto family.

Bryson and his mommy.

Bryson and his daddy.

Courtney wanted me to ask everyone if you could leave a comment now and then, for his first birthday we are going to print his blog out as a bound book. We want Bryson to always have a record of all the very important people that have prayed for him his whole life. Even if you only say, "How cute." or "Precious" or "Nice pictures" or whatever you feel. We really like comments. Thanks, and we're going to try to be more consistent with posting to his blog.

4 months old!

2009-06-08T10:58:00.005-05:00

Well its hard to believe that Bryson is already 4 months old! He is getting so big! He had his 4 month check up today and he weighs 11 pounds exactly. The doctor said that we can stop giving him his caffeine now and if everything looks good in 2 weeks we will take him off of his heart monitor. He also said that he can start eating baby food now! Bryson had to have 4 shots today and he was not happy! This week Bryson laughed for the first time and had his first stuffy nose, it was a very eventful week! Ok well thats it for now keep checking in for more updates!

Crying after his shots!

hanging out with Pops

All night long

2009-05-27T11:04:00.004-05:00

It is exciting having a new baby because everything is new to them, everything is a first. Bryson has already had his first smile, his first laugh, and will continue to have many other firsts. But the first that we are most excited about as new parents finally happened last night. Bryson, for the first time ever, slept all night long!!!!!!!!

Now I am not crazy enough to think this is going to be an everynight thing already but man that is exciting. We put him to bed about 10:30 or 11:00 and we got up around 8:20, which is late I might add. But we are very proud of our little man and he was in such a good mood this morning. Courtney said it was because he slept all night, which was why momma was in a good mood too!! He is growing and changing and learning new things everyday. We can't wait to experience more 'firsts' with Bryson and we will keep you updated. Thanks for checking in!!

This is Leelee now adding my two cents worth, but today while Courtney and Bryson were over at my house I took this picture of Bryson. Another first "sitting in his own Bumbo chair." Kevin's sister gave it to me to give to Bryson this week. He seemed to enjoy it for a few minutes and did pretty good at "sitting." He kept making faces and making me and Courtney laugh. He's so cute. He grows and changes everytime I see him. Here is the picture. Thanks Christi and Kelly. I'm sure his Bumbo will be used often.

3 months

2009-05-14T13:49:00.005-05:00

Hi everyone, it's Courtney! Bryson is 3 months old now and growing like a weed. He is weighing around 9 pounds and he is finally starting to fit in his big boy clothes and shoes. He is smiling more and making lots of little noises! He loves going on walks in his stroller! He is pretty much a typical baby, growing and learning like normal! Here are some pictures of him at 3 months old!

*** After I posted this I went back to the very beginning and was amazed again by how great our God is! I recommend looking for yourself!

Some new pics

2009-04-30T10:04:00.004-05:00

Hey everyone, it's Courtney! We don't really have anything to update so I thought that I would post some new pictures I took while we were getting ready this morning! Enjoy!

My apologies

2009-04-23T10:02:00.004-05:00

I am sorry for the lack of posts these last few weekes. Bryson is doing good and growing alot. He had his second doctors appointment yesterday and he now weighs 7 pounds 5 ounces and is 20 and 1/4 inches long. He got some more shots yesterday and he cried actual tears, but momma picked him up and he was all better. He has been a little sick the last few days, nothing too bad just some tummy problems. Other than that he is just hanging out doing his thing.
Here are a few new pictures of Bryson.

Bryson sleeping on his momma

Bryson loving on his daddy!

He really is a happy baby

Weekly Update

2009-04-19T20:50:00.003-05:00

I know if you all are like me, I check Bryson's blog everyday for an update and am disappointed that is not an update. I do know Bryson went to a pediatric eye doctor and the report was great! He goes back in a year for another exam. He also weighs over seven pounds now and has outgrown his preemie clothes and is now wearing new born size. Bryson is still not supposed to be around large crowds yet, but Courtney and Chris said they welcome visitors, but please call first. I'm supposed to take picutres of him later this week so maybe I will post some pictures. Bryson has a regular peditrition appointment later in the week, so maybe there will be more news. In the meantime, keep checking in.

Easter Weekend

2009-04-12T23:47:00.002-05:00

I know Chris and Courtney will have more to post about Bryson's Easter weekend, but I wanted to do a quick post about his visit to Littlefield to meet the rest of the Sanderson Family. Being as his birth date was originally supposed to be Easter Sunday, April 12th, it was quite exciting that Bryson was with us and not as a new born, but as a two month old. I think he did pretty good for his first trip out of town. I don't think he liked his sleeping arrangements very well and was probably happy to get back home to his daddy and his own little bed. Here is a picture I took on Saturday with Bryson's big Easter Bunny I bought for him. He's so cute, you just want to eat him up. He now weighs 7 pounds plus and is starting to stay awake a little more and is growing into his personality. It was really a blessing to have him home with us all.

2 Months old!!

2009-04-07T23:00:00.002-05:00

Here are some pictures of Bryson at 2 months old, he sure is getting big!!

Growing like a weed

2009-04-07T09:33:00.003-05:00

Bryson is growing so much it is crazy. Courtney's grandma bought us a scale so we could weigh him ourselves since we don't weigh him everyday like we were doing while he was in the NICU. If the scale is right, which we know it isn't as good as the ones at the hospital, Bryson is almost up to 7 pounds!!! That is crazy and would mean that he has gained over 3 pounds since he was born. He is starting to be more alert and is holding his head up better. I will try and get some more pictures up soon.

Courtney also wanted me to let everyone know that if you would like to come over and see Bryson we would love to accomodate you. If you could please call us first that way we don't have too many people over at once. Also it is still important that if there is even a small chance that you might be sick, or you are getting over being sick, we still ask you to refrain from coming over. Even though Bryson is getting bigger it is still necessary for us to take every precaution we can to make sure that we will not have to bring him back to the hospital. With that said, we hope to see you all soon!!

Not much to report

2009-04-01T09:11:00.002-05:00

For those of you who are dying to know what is going on I thought I would update you a little bit. Bryson is doing well. He is growing and changing everyday, In the almost 2 weeks he has been home it is crazy to see how much he has changed. We are only getting him up once during the night and he is adapting to that very well. He sleeps until we wake him up and feed him and then goes right back to sleep when he is finished eating. He has made a few outings and has done well. We won't be able to take him to church or any place with big crowds until he is at lesat 3 months old. He will be 2 months old in a week, that is crazy!! Other than that Bryson is doing what babys are supposed to do, cry, eat, sleep and repeat. It is wonderful having him home and getting to be mom and dad. We will keep you updated on any news, but it may start coming less and less. But please don't stop checking in so that everyone will know what is going on with the cutest kid in the world!! (granted I am a little biased)

What a snowy day!!

2009-03-27T10:45:00.002-05:00

Well today is going to be fun, we are going to let Bryson play out in the blizzard!!! Just kidding, but this is his first time to get snowed in and as Courtney put it, probably his last as long as we live in Amarillo that is. So today is my day off and we are snowed in so we all get to snuggle and cuddle in our warm bed together today. Bryson is doing good, just hanging out and being a baby. I will put some more pictures on here for everyone to see, thanks for caring!!

First Doctors Visit

2009-03-25T09:44:00.004-05:00

Today was Bryson's first doctors visit and it went pretty good. We finally got to weigh him today and he is now up to 5 pounds 12 ounces and is 18 and a half inches long. That means he has gained almost 2 pounds since birth and grown 2 and half inches. He is doing great!!

On a not so good note, his pediatrician wants to increase his caffeine per day because he has had some bradykardias. They have mostly been when he is eating but she wants to make sure that everything is ok. He is also slightly anemic which hopefully he will grow out of.

Things are going good at home. Our sleep is still at a minimum but hopefully that will start changing soon. We still have to wake him up and feed him at night but not quite as often. He has seen all of his grandparents and most of his great grandparents. Some time this week he should get to see two of his great great grandmas!!!! Other than that it is business as usual with Bryson. We are still not going to get him out in crowds for a while, especially with this cold snap coming at the end of this week. But thanks for your continued prayers for us and Bryson. Can't waith for him to meet everyone!!!

Bryson with his Cousins Maddox and Carmen

Doing Great!

2009-03-21T20:52:00.002-05:00

Just wanted to do a little update. Chris is out of town on a mini-mission trip for the weekend. Courtney, Chris and Bryson are doing great. He has now been home a couple of days and everyone is being respectful of their visits. There have been a few people a day, but spaced just right so they could start establishing a schedule. Courtney's little cousin that is five just couldn't get over "how so tiny he is, but his fingers are so straight." Today when I took her back home that was the first thing she told her mom about the baby. She also said his hands were so-o-o-o soft. She thought he was pretty cool. As far as I know Bryson has not had any episodes of apnea. He goes to see his pediatrician later this week so maybe there will be an update on weight and length. Bryson still doesn't like to have his clothes changed and that is usually the only time you hear a peep out of him. I told Courtney he sounds like a cat meowing. He's so adorable though.

Home Sweet Home

2009-03-19T11:18:00.002-05:00

We are all home... finally!! Bryson is enjoying his first day home, his grandma (Courtney's mom) and his aunt Mallory (Courtney's sister) got to come with us and help us bring him home. Mallory was too little to get to come see him in the hospital so this was her first time to get to see Bryson and she was so excited. So here we go, this is going to be a grand adventure. Thanks for al your prayers and support, we will still keep things updated here so everyone of Bryson's fans across the globe can know what is going on with our little guy. Please keep praying for him and us as we do this whole parenting thing.

Another Day

2009-03-18T13:53:00.002-05:00

Well we didn't end up getting to bring Bryson home with us today either. The doctor wants to keep him there a little longer to monitor and see if the caffeine is doing what it is supposed to be doing. So far since he has been back on the caffeine Bryson has not had any apenea or brady kardia. That is what we were hoping for. Yesterday we got his monitor that will be coming home with us. It is loud and annoying and we don't like it at all. The only time it went off was when his leads (the sensors monitoring his heart rate and brething) were loose. Other than that we haven't heard anything from the monitor which is great. We have at least one more night ahead of us at the hospital but we don't know for sure about when we will get him home. Thanks for your prayers and thank you for checking in on us.

Some Pictures

2009-03-17T22:26:00.002-05:00

Here are some pictures that we have taken the last couple of days of Bryson.... just thought we would share the cuteness!!!

Disapointing News

2009-03-17T12:13:00.003-05:00

Well we had a rough night last night. Bryson has been having trouble with eating too fast and gagging and coughing which would cause his breathing to stop and his heart rate to drop. That is what the caffeine was used to prevent. Which is why he has been in the hospital the last 5 days to monitor for apnea with him off of the caffeine. Well last night he had a really bad apnea. It was not caused by eating, he just stopped breathing and his heart rate dropped. So the nurse practitioner came in this morning and told us they are going to put Bryson back on caffeine and send him home on the apnea monitor. But we will have to stay in the hospital tonight so we can get used to the monitor. So Bryson will not be coming home today, if everything goes well then tomorrow he should be coming home. Then when we got home today we found out our dogs ran away. So needless to say we have had a rough day. But the silver lining is that it is better for them to catch something wrong now then for us to bring him home and something bad happens. Pray that everything works out and he really does get to come home tomorrow.

Tired but Excited

2009-03-17T00:38:00.003-05:00

Well he is at it again, he just won't go to sleep right now, oh well it is not a big deal, I mean who needs sleep right? He is taking after his dad in one way, he enjoys the soothing ambience of the television. Here is a picture of our little guy mesmerized by John Stewart on The Daily Show!

We are just biding our time until tomorrow when he will take his first car ride and meet Lily and Dawson and settle in at home. But before that can happen tomorrow afternoon Bryson gets his first eye exam. That is pretty exciting. So lets hope we can get some sleep tonight and get ready for full time Bryson.

1 night down!!

2009-03-16T10:23:00.003-05:00

Everyone survived the first night. Bryson did good, except I think he already has his nights and days mixed up because he didn't want to go to sleep between 12:00 and 3:00 this morning. Other than that things are going good. Courtney was super mom last night. She was up with him and took care of him like an old pro. Bryson and I are lucky guys to have a great wife and mom!!

We have been talking about what we are going to do when we bring Bryson home, the nurses have told us and we agree that Bryson shouldn't be around a lot of people. For the first few weeks we have decided to only let family come over and see him. It isn't that we don' t want people to see him, we just don't want to chance him getting sick. As far as family goes we only want to have one set of family over at a time. We don't want to over expose him. Hopefully everything will go well and everyone will be able to see him soon. If you have any questions or you want to come over (family that is) call us first, that way we won't have too many people trying to come over at once.thanks for your understanding and continued prayers and support.

Rooming In

2009-03-15T20:46:00.003-05:00

We are officially in possession of a little baby boy!!!! As of 8:45 we got Bryson and he is completely under our care. We are a little nervous but very excited. We will be staying here tonight, sunday night, and tomorrow night. Then if everything goes well and continues the way it has for the last couple of weeks, we will be bringing Bryson home on Tuesday some time. So we will try to keep the blog updated on how we are progressing and how mister Bryson is doing. Wish us luck on our first night with our baby boy!!!

This picture was taken with my web cam on my mac book

Car Seat Test!!

2009-03-13T16:01:00.002-05:00

Today Bryson had his first test... and he passed with flying colors. He had to sit in his car seat for 2 hours and not have problems breathing or anything like that. He didn't have any problems at all. Here are some pictures of Bryson in his car seat.

We also found out a little more information including an estimated day for him to be coming home. They took him off of his caffeine yesterday and he has to go 5 days in the NICU without having any apnea. If that is the case then we get room in with him Sunday and Monday night and then brig him home on Tuesday!!!! Everything has to continue to go well, and if he keeps going the way he has been then it won't be a problem and he will be home with us. Courtney got her first crack at breast feeding today and both momma and Bryson did very good. So all in all Bryson is making amazing progress and will be home in no time. Thanks for all of your prayers and support, we will need them all the more soon when he is home with his mom and dad!

Big News!!!

2009-03-12T09:10:00.005-05:00

We have some big news!!! Last night when we went up to see Bryson we had a few surprises when we got there. I got there first and he was bundled up wearing clothes with his isolette turned down. We took his temperature and it was 98.7!!! That means he is maintaining his body temperature better. Then while we were changing him we noticed they took the feeding tube out of his nose!!!! As of right now Bryson has eaten 8 full bottles in a row!!!! That means he is doing everything he can to come home from the hospital. His nurse last night told us some exciting stuff and that he should be coming home soon. We still do not have a definitive date of when he could be coming home, but we are excited and he is working so hard. This morning when we went to see him he was in an open crib for the first time!!! His nurse this morning said that she thinks we could room in with him as soon as tomorrow night. Rooming in is a 24 hour period that we stay at the hospital with Bryson taking care of him ourselves. If that goes well then we will be able to bring him home!! He still has to keep up eating and keep his temperature up, but it seems that the light has definitely be switched on and he is ready to come home!!!
No Tube in his nose!!!

Momma holding Bryson!!

1 month old!!!

2009-03-09T10:02:00.003-05:00

Sorry for tha absence of information. For some reason whenever I have some time off of work I seem to be busier than any other time. This weekend of course was no different. Bryson was 1 month old yesterday!!!!! That is really exciting. Time is already flying by and each day he is getting bigger and bigger. He weighs 4 pounds 12.8 ounces and he is over 17 inches long. He is continuing to do about the same in the feeding area. He tries really hard at first and by the time he is about half way through a bottle he is almost too tired to finish. He is still taking 2-4 full bottles a day so that is good. Other than that it is businiess as usual in the NICU with baby boy Quinto. Pray that he will be able to eat more consistently so we can bring him home soon!! Thanks alot.

Friday

2009-03-06T17:39:00.004-06:00

Bryson is still doing great. He is up to 4 pounds 9 ounces and he is still eating multiple full bottles a day. Last night we put his first sleeper on him and got some pictures. His nurse last night said she thinks that he should be coming home in no time. I have no idea what exactly what that means, but I am still sticking to our 2 more weeks prediction. I will update when we have something substantial to update. Thanks for checking in.

Eat it up!!

2009-03-04T15:08:00.003-06:00

Yesterday Bryson took 4 full bottles!!! I don't think that he ate any of them in a row which means that he still has a long way to go, but he is doing very well. It seems that maybe he switched the light on. He has to eat all 8 of his feedings in a timely fashion, and consistently for a few days to make sure that he can do it when he leaves. I don't know how he is doing maintaining his body temperature, they have not said much about that. Last night he weighed 4 pounds 7 ounces. That is about it for today. Just eating and growing!!

Wearing clothes

2009-03-03T10:04:00.002-06:00

Bryson is continuing to get bigger. He weighed in last night at 4 pounds 5.5 ounces. They have started to let us put some clothes on him!! That is exciting not only because he is even cuter in baby clothes, but it also means that before too long they are going to start trying to turn his bed down and begin to see how he does on holding his own temperature. The sooner he can do that, the sooner he can come home!! Other than that things are pretty much the same. Courtney and I started to assemble the many things we got for Bryson at the shower on Saturday. His room is already getting full! He took all of his bottle this morning which is a good sign, maybe that light bulb will turn on sometime soon.

Here is a picture of one of his preemie hats we brought up for him to wear...it was huge on him!!

Monday 3/2

2009-03-02T10:54:00.002-06:00

Bryson is getting so much bigger. Saturday we had a deacons retreat with our church, and most of friday I was sidelined by my allergies so I didn't get to see our little guy until later on Saturday. He just looked like he grew so much. He is beginning to get some meat on him. He weighs 4 pounds 4.8 ounces!! He has almost gained 1 pound, his lowest weight was 3 pounds 5 ounces. On saturday I got to bathe him. It was so much fun!! Then I got to feed him. We had his baby shower this past Saturday too. He got way to many clothes, but it is pretty appropriate because his mom and dad have too many clothes too! He is doing good, he is taking his bottle better, still not regularly taking all of it. The nurses say that soon a light will go off and he will start making rapid progress. So we are just waiting on that light, I sure wish he would find that switch. But he is doing great and getting cuter every day!!

Friday 2/27

2009-02-27T10:39:00.002-06:00

Bryson is finally over the 4 pound mark!! Granted he is just barely over but it is still a milestone. He is also doing pretty good eating from a bottle. The last 2 days he has take 25 of his 33 mililiters which is wonderful. Courtney got to bottle feed him yesterday which she was so excited about. He fell asleep early on in the feeding but it was his second feeding of the day. Other than that things are pretty much the same. He has started a new ritual of pooping in the middle of his diaper changes, it took me 4 diapers to finally get him cleaned up yesteday!!! He is already a little brat, but he is our little brat and we love him!!

Wednseday 2/25

2009-02-25T10:42:00.002-06:00

We went up to see Bryson this morning. He is doing good. He weighed in last night at 3 pounds 15.8 ounces!!! He is oh so close to that 4 pound mark, we were really hoping he would hit that but we will take whatever we can get at this time. The occupational therapist came in and worked with him on his bottle feeding. He did great, he took 25 of his 33 mililiters. That is the most he has taken yet. So all in all he has had a good day so far today. Courtney and I are in the process of cleaning out my 'office' and getting his nursery ready. It is going slow, but it should be all good. The baby shower is this Saturday. We are excited to see all the cool stuff that Bryson gets. I guess we hnow have to accept the fact that we will no longer be getting stuff, it will ALL be for him!! But that is ok, we are super excited for our house to be taken over by baby stuff.

Tuesday Morning 2/24

2009-02-24T10:29:00.003-06:00

Sorry for the couple of days without posting, and thank you Linda for letting everyone know we didn't fall off the face of the earth. We had a great Disciple Now weekend, very busy, but I am already excited and looking forward to next years!! Bryson is doing wonderful. He is up to 3 pounds 14.5 ounces. They measured him last night and he is 16 and a half inches longs!! He grew half an inch in 2 weeks!! Other than that it is pretty much business as usual. An ocupational therapist is going to start working with him on bottle feeding. I guess since eating is his 'job' right now he needs an occupational therapist! (just kidding). So Bryson is just eating, sleeping, pooping (a whole lot!!), and growing. Hopefully it will just be a couple more weeks until we get to bring him home!!!!!!!

Sunday Update 3:30

2009-02-22T15:25:00.004-06:00

I thought I'd do a quick update because I'm sure everyone is wondering what has happened in the past few days. Simply stated Chris and Courtney have been very busy with their Discipleship Now weekend retreat for their youth group and a couple of visiting youth groups. I did talk to Courtney yesterday and she said Bryson was doing great. Seems there was an error with the scale and Bryson does not weigh 4 lbs as we thought but closer to his birth weight of 3 lbs 13 oz. He is still being bottle fed and it is breast milk. So far so good. I think he is doing better on regulating his body temperature as well. The nurse said at the end of the week they will start putting clothes on Bryson to see if he can maintain his body temperature and if he does then they will move him into an open issolette. Thanks for checking in.

Bryson's First Bottle

2009-02-19T22:12:00.006-06:00

Today the nurses in the NICU gave Bryson his first bottle. I'm 'not sure if it was soy formula or breast milk. He did pretty well this morning and drank quite a bit of his bottle. He seemed surprised when something came out of his "passie." Not all that came out went into his tummy but he did pretty good for his first try. Then this afternoon I got to take Courtney back to see Bryson and the nurse tried again to bottle feed him. He didn't do as well as he did in the morning, but did attempt a little. He got so sleepy she had to finish up with his feeding tube. The nurse said they would probably only try to bottle feed him once a day for now. He is gaining about an ounce a day. He now weighs 3 lbs and 11 oz and is starting to fill out a little. Here is a little video we shot from my RCA Small Wonder that I won last year at Kevin's dad's birthday party. It comes in handy. Hopefully we'll post more video as Bryson continues to grow.

2/18 - 10 Days Old!!!

2009-02-18T10:39:00.003-06:00

Time is already flying by, I can't believe that Bryson is 10 days old! He gained another ounce yesterday and is up to 3 pounds 10 ounces. He is just growing like a weed. He is starting to get some chubby cheeks, (see picture below). They took his iv out last night so he is only hooked up to the monitors and is getting all the nutrients he needs through his feedings. He is up to 33 mL every 3 hours, which is the maximum they will give him until he reaches his birth weight again. Then they will increase how much he gets depending on his weight. When I held him last night the nurse unhooked him from his monitors. I was a little scared because if he had an apnea spell I wouldn't know, but I think he did good, I really didn't give him the chance to stop breathing because I was rubbing his back and talking to him to make sure he remembered to breathe. So he is pregressing nicely, and growing up already.

Yesterday I forgot to mention that Bryson will be starring in the new BSA NICU Brochure. They came and took his picture yesterday morning, pretty much because he is so stinkin cute. So it looks like we have a celebrity on our hands!

The baby I asked you to pray for yesterday, was taken to Lubbock so they could do a heart surgery on her. Continue to pray for her and Bryson. Thanks for all of your love and support.

2/17 Gaining Weight

2009-02-17T09:56:00.003-06:00

We went up to the hospital last night and Bryosn has been hving trouble maintaining his temperature. So we didn't get to hold him last night. When we went up this morning it was the same thing. The nurses and Courtney and I think it may be his isolette. So the nurse is going to change it out and see if that helps. Now for the good news. Bryson gained 1.3 ounces yesterday!!! Which is wonderful to hear. He is tolerating his feedings very well, and they are steadily increasing the amount he gets. Hopefully we will be getting to hold him on our next visit.

One more thing. There is a little baby in the NICU with Bryson and she is not doing good. I don't know all the details, just that she is going to be flown to either Lubbock or Dallas for some type of surgery. So if you could pray for her, I am sure her family would appreciate it very much. Thanks!!

Moday 2/16

2009-02-16T10:52:00.004-06:00

Wow, we had a very busy weekend. Sorry that I haven't been able to update much. So here goes. Yesterday Bryson was 1 week old!!!! He is doing so much better. It is amazing as we look back on pictures from his first day here with us until now, how much older he really looks. He has been eating again, they did start him on some soy formula which seems to be working. They still don't know the specific reason as to why he was not tolerating his feedings before, but what they are doing now seems to be working so they are going to stick with that. He as started to gain back some weight!!! He lost about 7 ounces from the time he was born but has already put back on more than 1 ounce. His weight sits at 3 pounds 7.7 ounces. He is still having some apnea problems. It usually happens right after he eats. His little tummy gets full, and he gets comfortable and he forgets that he has to breathe. But hopefully as he grows he will stop the apnea because we don't want to have to bring him home on the monitor. Courtney is dong good. She is feeling better, and not so sore anymore. I think that is about it. Hopefully this week I will be able to keep up a little better. Thanks for checking in!

Saturday Update 2/14

2009-02-14T18:55:00.003-06:00

I haven't been back to the hospital to see Bryson for a couple of days. It's hard to take turns, but with both families being large and only limited visitation it takes a while for it to rotate back to my turn. I do know they have taken Bryson out from under the lights. They did try to feed him again, but he again did not tolerate the milk so they were going to try him on some soy formula to see if that was better. Courtney borrowed my camera to take some pictures and I thought in honor of Valentine's Day I would post this photo of true love. Please keep Courtney, Chris and Bryson in your prayers. He's making progress but still has some ground to cover before he can go home.

Day 5 - a good day!!

2009-02-13T09:32:00.002-06:00

When we went up to see Bryson this morning we got some great news. He is doing much, much better today. They have started his feedings again. They are starting him off slow and will work it up just like they were doing before, increase the amount of milk he gets every other feeding as long as he tolerates it. They are also taking him off of the billie light. They will test his levels in the morning and if it all checks out they will keep him off. So our fiesty little man is doing good. Thanks for the prayers, I know that our Father in heaven hears them and honors each one. So now we need him to start gaining weight so he can come home with us.

4 day old update

2009-02-12T09:43:00.002-06:00

We went to see Bryson this morning, I wasn't feeling good so I didn't go in to see him so Courtney went in by herself this morning. He only lost less than half an ounce yesterday and weighs 9 lbs 6.9 ozs. So that is good news. Now for the not so good news. Courtney said that they have stopped feeding him because he may be sick. Last night when we were there at 9:00 pm he spit up while he was eating twice, the nurses didn't seem to concerned so we didn't either. They said at some point last night he spit up something green. So they have stopped feeding him for now. The nurse said he may be off of his feedings for up to two days. Hopefully this will only be a bump in the road and he will bounce back and start eating again soon. But I ask again like I have so many times that you will start praying for God to heal Bryson and help him be able to eat again soon. Thank you for your love for my son and my family, it means so much.

3 days old 11:00 am

2009-02-11T11:18:00.002-06:00

Well I am going back to work today, this is not going to be easy at all. I will miss a few of his assesment times and I don't like that, but I will have to learn to live with it, someone has to pay for the little guy!! I went to see him at 9:00 and got to feed him. He is taking 15 ml now, which is great. He weighs 3 lbs. 7.4 ozs. which means he lost another 2 ounces between today and yesterday. But that is ok, the nurse said he will probably lose weight for 2 or 3 more days before he starts to gain it again. They put him under a billie light, which is used to help breakdown the red blood cells in his body. If you notice in the pictures he is a little orange-ish red. That is because his liver cannot process everything like ours does, so the billie light helps to fix that. It is normal for preemies and not uncommon in full term babies either. So things are good, keep up the praying!!

He Smiled

2009-02-10T21:44:00.002-06:00

We went to see Bryson tonight at 9:00. He had a new nurse tonight, she is pretty nice too. She let us hold him for 30 minutes or so which was really great. While Courtney was holding him and talking to him he smiled at her!!! It was clear as day, and extremely cute. Then I got to hold him for a while. He ate a full serving of momma's milk which was good. He stayed awake and looked at us for a long time, he loves the sound of his mom's and my voice. I will update in the morning.

3:45 pm Day 2

2009-02-10T15:43:00.004-06:00

Bryson is continuing to do well. He is still off of the oxygen, and off of his antibiotics. They are still giving him caffeine and it is helping with his heart rate dropping occasionaIly. Momma is doing good. She finally got some milk for him, almost enough for him to have only momma's milk next time we feed him so that is good. I thought I would put a few pictures up so everyone can see how he is looking.

9:30 Update...Day 2

2009-02-10T09:27:00.002-06:00

We have some great news today. They are taking Bryson off of his antibiotics completely, which is great. They are also increasing his feeding at about double what they normally do. They normally increase 2 times a day. Now they are increasing it 2 ml every other feeding. The only thing that isn't so good is that they are putting him on caffeine. They do that because every now and then his heart rate will drop. The nurse said that is normal it is just because he is premature. So they are putting him on it just to help keep it up more regularly. It was kinda scary because the last few times we have been in there his heart rate has dropped, but the nurses just wait until he self-recovers. So the caffeine will help with that. On the home front, our two dogs, Dawson and Lily, made a bit of a mess in the house, I won't go into details, but I need to go clean it up. so wish me luck with that!! Until next time...

Late night update

2009-02-09T23:44:00.001-06:00

We had a great night with Bryson tonight. Both Courtney and I got to hold him for a very long time. Courtney changed his diaper for the first time tonight as well. At his 6:00 feeding they took Bryson off of oxygen completely and he has stayed off of it ever since. The nurse said that we shouldn't worry if he goes back on because that is common for them to go off and on oxygen sometimes. There hasn't been much else, they will up his feeding by 2 milliliters every time the clock strikes 12:00 as long as he is tolerating the food. Good night and hope you come back to see more updates tomorrow, thanks and God Bless!!

3:30 Update

2009-02-09T15:27:00.003-06:00

Well Bryson is doing wonderful. They are continuing to ween him off the oxygen. They have also started to feed him which is great. They feed him every 3 hrs, at 3, 6, 9, and 12 around the clock. Those are the best times for us to go see him because we can change his diaper, take his temperature and all that fun stuff. Courtney is now completely cord free so she can roam around all she wants to, she is getting better pretty quickly too. My mom and step-dad got to see him earlier and Courtney's mom got to see him just a little while ago. That is about it for now, but the nurse said he is doing so good he may not have to stay all the way until his due date, but that may just be me being optimistic so don't quote me on that. His other set of grandparents, my dad and step-mom, should get to see him later today, Courtney said it is neat to have other people be able to see him and I would have to agree. So to wrap it up, Bryson is doing great and God is amazing. Till the next time...

1 Day Old!!!

2009-02-09T08:36:00.003-06:00

Bryson is 1 day old!! That is awesome! I went to see him this morning, around 8:00, kinda early but I guess I have to get used to that! Courtney couldn't come this morning, but she got to take a shower and is slowly being unhooked from all of her medical equipment. Bryson has lost a few ounces, which is normal, and good because he was swollen from his traumatic entrance yesterday. That seems like so long ago but it was only one day. He was 3 lbs. 9.9 ozs. when they weighed him this morning. I wasn't sure if the nurses had changed him and took his temperature yet so I missed out on that this morning, but that is ok. His temperature was a little low, so they had to turn the heat up. But they said he did great last night. I think some of his Grandparents are gonna try and come see him today so this is going to be another big day for Bryson and our family.

10:30 pm Update

2009-02-08T22:28:00.003-06:00

Well we just had a very eventful trip to the NICU. We got there a little after 8:00 pm and had to wait a little while for the nurse to finish up with another baby. But this was nice because we got to spend some good time with Bryson. Courtney went again and she really enjoyed it. When the nurse got there I got to change his diaper, then we got to give him a bath. We used wet wipes in some bath water. He seemed to enjoy the bath, but not the diaper change so much. Then we got to hold him. I got some good pictures of Courtney holding Bryson I will put those up. Now for the more good news. When we got to the NICU they had a isolette in his room. The nurse that was there when he was born was taking care of him tonight which was neat, her name is Wendy and she is a very nice lady. She said she was amazed at how well he was doing and they before we left we got to put him in the isolette, which she said never happens on a baby's first day in the NICU. Bryson is doing great. They expect him to lose some weight which is normal for any newborn. But we should get to do some more with him in the coming days. I will update you tomorrow when I have some more to write about. Until then, good night!!

5:15 Update

2009-02-08T17:15:00.002-06:00

Well WE went to see Bryson at 4 this afternoon. It was quite an event, it was Courtney's first time out of bed and her first time to see her son!!!! We had to push her in a wheel chair to get her to the NICU. Courtney is doing good, she is getting to feel better and did well walking a little ways back to the room. She was very excited to get to see him but we didn't get to touch him because we want to let him rest as much as possible. The great news is that the nurse in the NICU said that they have started weening Bryson off of the oxygen and when we go back at 8:00 we may get to hold him for the first time. So things are going well right now. More updates to come,

12:25 Update

2009-02-08T12:22:00.002-06:00

I just went and saw Bryson again. He is doing about the same, which is great. He is still breathing well, and is still not on the ventilator so praise God for that. While I was in there he yawned twice and he kept pulling his nasal cannula out and I got to put it back in!! That was neat. He also squeezed my hand a little bit. His momma is doing good, she really wants to see him and hopefully will get the chance to later today. I hope you don't get sick of these updates because you will get them every time I go in to see him. Until then!!

Bryson is here!!!!

2009-02-08T09:36:00.003-06:00

That is right, at 6:07 this morning Bryson Andrew Quinto was brought into this world. Around 4:00 am Courney woke me up complaining of some pain. we waitied for another 15 minuets and then decided to call the doctor and head to the hospital. We got to the hospital a little before 5:00 and they immediately admitted Courtney. The doctor decided that we would go ahead and do the c-section because Courtney was in labor. When Bryson was born his head was stuck for a few moments and then at first he did not want to breathe. After a few minutes of working on him they got him breathing and took him to the NICU. Courtney is doing fine, very tired and sore but of course she just had a baby!! Bryson is doing well. He weighed 3 pounds and 13 ounces and is breathing pretty much on his own. He is not hooked up to a ventilator so that is a good thing. I got to go in and see him and will get to do so 2 more times today. Pray for momma and baby that they recover quickly and can both go home as soon as possible. Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes so far. They really mean a lot. I will post pictures of him so you can see. Updates will follow when I have more info. (sorry if the typing is a little off, i am a little tired too.)

Monday 9:40 update

2009-02-02T09:41:00.006-06:00

Courtney had an appointment for a check up this morning. I (Chris) had to go get our tire fixed on my car so Lavonna, Courtney's mom took her to the doctor. She just called me and the doctor said her cerclage is stretching, and she is dialated to a 2. However the doctor is not changing anything or admitting Courtney to the hospital. Courtney can still take one shower a day and get up to use the restroom, but is still on bed rest. She said the way the doctor was talking he thought she could have Bryson at anytime. Courtney also had blood work done today and her glucose levels were 143, which they are supposed to be 140 or less and she is barely anemic. They put her on iron supplements. The doctor told her to limit her sweets for now. So, we need everyone to keep praying for Courtney's health and that Bryson can stay in utero for as long as possible. She is at 30 weeks now which is an accomplishent and we are thankful for that, but the longer Bryson stay's in the better. So thanks for checking in, and keep praying!!

Quick Update Saturday, January 31

2009-01-31T21:40:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to remind everyone that tomorrow Courtney hits the big 30! That's in weeks pregnant of course. She won't be the big 30 in years for ten more years. She also goes to the doctor on Monday so we should have some more news. As far as her pregnancy is going, she is still doing well. She hasn't had any more contractions and is being good about staying flat and on bed rest. The other thing I wanted to post today is to keep Courtney and Chris in prayer today as it was one year ago today that baby Noah was born and returned to heaven. I know Courtney and Chris find today to be bittersweet. Just keep them lifted up and checking in on progress. Bryson will be here before we know it.

Update Monday January 26

2009-01-26T15:09:00.002-06:00

Courtney just called to let me know about her doctor's visit. She is 29 weeks and they did a 3D sonogram today and Bryson weighs 2 lbs. and 10 oz. One of Courtney's friends was pushing to have a shower for her, but Dr. Davis said he did not recommend it until she was 36 weeks. Courtney gets her stitches from the cerclage out at 35 weeks. She also told me that their church, South Georgia Baptist, will pay for their insurance after February. So that is a load off their minds. Courtney has started making some selections at Babies R Us if you want to take a look. She is worried she won't have what she needs. I keep telling her it will work out and with all the people following their pregnancy woes she will get everything she and Bryson need. Remember if you want to take Courtney and Chris a meal, email the link on the sidebar. Again, praise God for more answered prayers. Thanks for checking in.

Monday Noon-ish Update

2009-01-26T11:43:00.002-06:00

Courtney, after being confined to bed for the past week and not being able to see much of the outside world got to get up and go to the doctors this morning!!! She was very excited about that. The only problem was that it was 16 degrees outside and snowing for the 2nd time this whole winter. But she was grateful to get to see outside. Her first appointment was at 8:20 for a sonogram. Bryson is doing wonderfully and has gained about 6 ounces, he is now up to about 2 lb. 10 oz. which is wonderful. We then went to the doctor, Courtney is still not having any contractions which is great, and her cerclage is looking good. She is still on bedrest but now is counting down until next monday's excursion to the doctor's office again. Thanks for checking things out and thank you for your continued prayer. I will update if there is anything to update about.

Update Thursday, January 22

2009-01-23T00:19:00.002-06:00

There really isn't much news but I know people are still checking in so I thought I'd do a quick update. Courtney is at home and is doing well. She is on total bed rest. I think she goes to see her doctor on Monday so maybe there will be some news next week. In this case I guess no news is good news. There is someone at South Georgia Baptist that is organizing meals for Courtney and Chris. If you want the contact information email the link on the sidebar and I'll get it to you. The only other news is that Chris was involved in a car accident this week. The other driver ran a red light and crashed into Chris. I think the car is damaged and is not drivable. I didn't hear if the other guy had insurance, but I sure hope so. We need to pray that God will sustain both Chris and Courtney through these trying times. Thanks for checking in on them.

Monday update 8:38 p.m.

2009-01-19T18:07:00.003-06:00

I talked to Courtney this afternoon about 2:00 and she said the doctor told her she could go home. I called her again just now and she is finally home!!! I asked her about meals and she said someone at their church was handling it. I told her we could put a link on the blog for those that wanted to help, but for right now they already have several meals arranged. I will try to get the lady's name that's in charge so you can call if you'd like to be put on the schedule. Give praise for answered prayers. God is good!

Sunday 7:00 Update

2009-01-18T19:06:00.002-06:00

Kevin and I went out to the hospital to see Courtney. She is doing very well. She had taken a shower and had on a cute outfit that one of her friends brought her. I know getting out of a hospital gown makes her feel better. Courtney said the doctor told her she should be able to go home tomorrow. He doesn't make his rounds until after lunch, so if she goes home it will not be until tomorrow afternoon or early evening. She has not decided for sure if she is going home or to Lavonna's. She said she really just wanted to go home. If she does I'm sure we will organize a schedule for those that want to help. Check back in tomorrow evening and we should know something. Thanks for all your prayers and continue to lift Courtney, Chris and Bryson up. She is now 28 weeks as of today. Another hurdle crossed! Each week from now on makes a huge difference in development. Thanks again.

Friday Update 11:00 p.m.

2009-01-16T23:07:00.002-06:00

I went to see Courtney and Chris tonight at the hospital. There really has been no change in the situation. The doctor comes in and spends about 60 seconds in the room and then leaves. At this point we are beginning to think he wants Courtney to stay until Bryson makes his entrance. I guess if that is what it takes to get him here safely, then that's what will be done. The only thing that happened tonight while I was there was the nurse brought in the monitor to check on Bryson's heart beat and to check for contractions. Courtney told the nurse tech. that the earlier nurse had found his heart beat right off the bat, but apparently this nurse has trouble every night. Well, tonight was no different, Bryson was NOT cooperating. After about 15 minutes of no luck I said, "Do you want me to get on to him?" So I said, "Bryson you better cooperate!" and almost immediately she found his heart beat. Courtney said, "Bryson get used to it, Leelee's the boss." I thought it was funny. Also Courtney had a sonogram today. She was excited to get to get out of bed and out of the room for a minute. The sonogram showed Bryson to weight 2 pounds and 6 ounces I think. I know he had gained a couple of ounces since the last sonogram. He is still breach and his spine is towards Courtney's back. Hopefully things will continue to improve and Courtney will get to go home for bed rest there. Keep praying.

Update Thursday 7:30 p.m.

2009-01-15T19:29:00.003-06:00

I went out to the hospital to visit with Courtney today. I haven't been out in a couple of days, been really busy and letting her rest. I know she was really upset the day she talked to her employer. Several of you have asked about that I will get to that in a minute. There really hasn't been any change. Courtney is still on bed rest and the doctor hasn't said for sure she was going home Saturday, but we are hoping. She said today when she was on the monitor, that the nurse said there was an indication of one contraction, but Courtney said she thought it was a "yawn" blip. Courtney said they usually draw her blood in the early evening so I don't know if she still has a high white blood cell count to indicate infection. I'm sure if there is any hint of infection or contractions the doctor will not release her, but that's just me guessing. Thanks for your prayers and keep checking in. I will post as soon as I know when she is going home and also where. They are thinking about going home with Lavonna and Brice, especially since they are going to have to pay for COBRA insurance.

Now for all the questions about who her employer is, her paycheck comes from Panhandle Eye Group but she actually works for Broome Optical. As you see by clicking on the link it is quite a group of local eye doctors. I know a few people have already called their doctor to complain. She said the lady in charge of employee benefits did call her back and say they would extend her employment to the end of February and the manager at Broome Optical said Courtney could come back to work for them after she had the baby if she wanted to. In addition, South Georgia Baptist, where Chris works, said they would match part of the insurance payment. So prayers are being answered. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. Continue to lift Chris, Courtney and Bryson up for God's intervention and grace.

Tentative Release Date

2009-01-14T14:28:00.002-06:00

I just talked to Courtney and she said the Dr. Davis came to see her this afternoon and said that she should be able to go home on Saturday. He said her white blood cell count is still elevated which is a concern because that is an indication of infection. So pray that her white cell count will go down and that there will be no infection. Bryson is still doing great, his heartbeat is strong and he moves around all the time. Thanks again for all the prayers and concerns.

Tuesday 3:55 Update

2009-01-13T15:55:00.002-06:00

I just talked to Courtney and there is really no change. She has seen the doctor and he didn't say anything about dismissing her yet. The real news for today is that she talked to the people where she works and they said they were terminating her at the end of the month and that she would not have insurance. Needless to say Courtney is very upset. I told her that she could apply for COBRA insurance. We are working on it, but please pray for Courtney and Chris. Stress is not what she needs right now. Also, I have been notified that some of you that signed up as followers are not receiving updates. I think you have to have a blog, but I did add an email subscription link if you would like to be notified by email. Just click on the link and put subscribe in the subject line. Thanks again for all your love, care and prayers.

Good and not so Good news

2009-01-12T13:03:00.004-06:00

Well the doctor just came in and said that everything is looking good, there were no contractions when the monitored Courtney earlier today and said that Bryson is doing great, that is the good news. The not so good news is that the doctor said that Courtney will be staying at the hospital for a few more days to monitor infection from the new set of stitches which was a concern from the surgery this far along in her pregnancy. So we will be hanging out in the hospital for a little bit longer. Pray that there will be no infection so Courtney can go home.

New Room

2009-01-11T17:33:00.002-06:00

This is Chris, Earlier today Courtney moved rooms from the labor and delivery unit to a recovery room. She is room 325 which is in the Ware Tower and is really nice, it has a flat screen TV in it which is nice for me ; ) We are still playing the waiting game until the doctor comes in and if everything is still going well she will be able to go home and be on bed rest at home. Lavonna and I went home and cleaned in preparation for Courtney's return and all the people that will possibly be coming over. Thanks again for all the prayers, and continued prayers, I have no doubt that God is good and that He is answering those prayers. Thanks again!!

Sunday 12:00 Noon Update

2009-01-11T12:20:00.004-06:00

I just talked to Courtney and she said the doctor had been in to see her and everything was great. He has taken her off all meds, antibiotic and anti-contractions. She has been moved to a new room. If you are going to visit she is still on the third floor, but in the new wing, right as you enter the main doors at Baptist St. Anthony. Ask at the desk for the room number or the nurses station on the third floor. Courtney also said Dr. Davis said she could probably go home tomorrow, but will be on total bed rest until she delivers. Thank God for his grace and mercy once again.

Good News!!! Saturday 3:30 p.m.

2009-01-10T15:33:00.002-06:00

We just stopped by the hospital to visit Courtney and Chris and things are going very well. She is off all monitors and is just on an I.V. for now. They even said she could take a shower. The doctor made a visit earlier this morning and said if she continued to do well they would move her from labor and delivery to a regular room for today and tomorrow and that she might even get to go home on Monday. God is awesome! She is also off the inclined bed restriction and is very happy about that. But at least for now everyone is doing well. Thanks for all your prayers. God is definitely answering them. I know He has great plans for Bryson. I will post an update if they move Courtney to another room or floor.

Saturday 10:00 update

2009-01-10T10:08:00.002-06:00

I just talked to Chris to see if there was any change or news. He said they took Courtney off the fetal monitor last night because she had stopped having contractions. Praise God for another blessing. We were there last night when the NICU nurse came to talk to them about what to expect if Courtney delivers early. She told them all about the NICU nursery and what the procedures would be and the goals that Bryson would have to achieve to be dismissed from the NIC unit. The doctor still hasn't been in this morning so we are still waiting on that. We are under the impression that Courtney will not be dismissed from the hospital until after she has Bryson. A nurse has told them that she would be staying but the doctor hasn't told them that. Thanks for checking the blog and not calling Courtney or Chris. He said today they had only had a couple of phone calls and no visitors yet. I know it's hard because I want to know myself. I've added Chris as an author to the blog so he can post as well. That way maybe we can get the information out even faster. Thanks for all your prayers and well wishes.

6:00 update

2009-01-09T18:05:00.006-06:00

I just talked to Lavonna and Courtney is still having contractions, but they are less frequent. They are still giving her medication to continue to slow them down or stop them completely. She had her dinner meal and ate about half. One of her friends is going to bring her some ice cream after while. At this point they said she would have to be on the monitors for at least 24 more hours, but Lavonna said the nurse just indicated she thought Courtney would probably stay in the hospital for the duration of her pregnancy. The word for today is "Trendelenburg"In the Trendelenburg position the body is laid flat on the back with the feet higher than the head, in contrast to the reverse Trendelenburg position, where the body is tilted in the opposite direction. This is a standard position used in abdominal and gynecological surgery. It allows better access to the pelvic organs as gravity pulls the intestines away from the pelvis. We thought they could just say inverted, but you know doctors and their lingo. Here are some pictures I took this afternoon while I was at the hospital. Remember she is at Baptist St. Anthony here in Amarillo on the labor and delivery floor. If you want to send flowers or balloons, if they are delivered to the nurses station they will take them to her room. Looks like God is answering our prayers, let's keep asking.

Here is Courtney in the Trendelenburg position.

Here are some of the monitors.

Here is the heart monitor. The top number is Bryson's and the bottom info is Courtney's.

3:00 update

2009-01-09T14:53:00.002-06:00

Courtney is out of surgery and the doctor said it went better than he could have expected. He was able to get in at least two stitches and that the cervix membrane went back up. He said she is in recovery but should be back in her room soon. More than likely she will be on bed rest for the rest of her pregnancy. Thanks for your prayers.

1:38 update

2009-01-09T13:39:00.001-06:00

They moved Courtney's surgery up to 2:00. They have already taken her back to prep her for surgery for the cerclage. Pray for her and her doctor that there will be no complications and a successful surgery to keep Bryson in the womb where he needs to be.
Linda

11:00 update

2009-01-09T11:46:00.002-06:00

I just talked to Lavonna and here is the report:

The doctor came in this morning and did an exam. Courtney is still having contractions, but they have given her another shot to try to stop or slow them down. The doctor also said that her cervix had continued to thin and that she would probably deliver him in the next two days. Bryson is also breech. Today at 3:00 he is going to try to repair the cerclage and then put her on bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy. There are risks for the cerclage at this point as he could break her water and then she would definitely deliver. There is also a significant risk for infection. She is at Baptist St. Anthony Hospital on the labor and delivery floor. Please continue to pray for God's peace, grace and will.

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Linda

Still waiting

2009-01-09T09:48:00.000-06:00

I talked to Lavonna about 8:00 and she was on her way to the hospital. The doctor was supposed to be in around 8:00. They gave Courtney the second steroid shot this morning. Lavonna said the sonogram showed Bryson to be around 2 pounds. Lavonna said Courtney was still having contractions last night. Keep praying for Courtney, Chris, and Bryson. I'll update as I find out information.