Coen's First Mug Shot

We received an awkward phone call the other night from the local County Sheriff informing us that he had our son in custody after Coen was caught smuggling some 1% organic milk from a local grocery store. Coen claimed "temporary insanity" (as he was trained to do) as a result of his parents letting the milk stock run low at home. Fortunately, our son was able to post bail and he is a free man again.

In all seriousness, Coen just had his first passport photos taken (for summer trips to Canada and Mexico). As you can see above, he was rather stoic for this photo shoot.

We're headed to California tomorrow for the 4th weekend plus a work trip for a client. Coen gets to see his many paternal cousins. Should be a good time.

PS - We recently started him on some Rogain so we should see some growth soon... Otherwise, he may grow up to look like some old skinhead (at least he'll be straight edge!) OK, time for me to stop...

Corpus Christi : Coen's First Beach Experience

Though he has been to Huntington Beach, San Clemente, and Santa Cruz already, Coen's first true beach experience (meaning that he actually went in the water) was a few weeks back down in Corpus Christi, Texas. As our many Texan friends warned us, "Corpus Christi isn't exactly Hawaii" (where else is?); but it was a fun trip nonetheless. The little man went nuts crawling along the shoreline, darting in and out of the shorebreak like he was his own skimboard or something. It was hilarious. We actually wish he had a little more fear. Here are a few more pictures - here and here and here and here and here and with Kayla. Finally, some other pictures from the trip:
And a couple of classic shots of the little man that mama calls her "angel face":

Lime Doesn't Pay

Over the past few months, whenever we've gone out to eat, Coen has developed a strange habit of entertaining himself by consuming the limes at the table. At this point, he seems fully aware of what he is getting himself into and yet he still recklessly pushes forward. Here are the best 'before' and 'after' moments that we've been able to commit to film (well, bytes really).

Coen Medical Update 11-June-2008

Well, for the fourth time in his young life, the little man went "under" again today. We took Coen into the hospital this morning for the first of a potential series of steroid injections into his left hip (specifically, the left synovial membrane) with the intent being to control/kill the inflammation in the area.

The day started (as these ones always do) with him being cut off from food early the night before (not a big deal), then milk/nursing, and then water (big deals). Usually he wakes during the night from pain to "comfort nurse" two or three times. Last night somehow he miraculously stayed asleep from around 2 AM (the milk/nursing cut-off) to 6 AM (the time to wake up anyway). Prayers work.

When it came time for his procedure/"surgery", we were met by an army of doctors and nurses who did a great job of explaining the process and purpose. Specifically, our orthopedist (who I highly recommend) gave us a very thorough run-down of what she was going to do (arthrogram, range of motion test, steroid injection). This woman is becoming a huge fan of Coen and even acted somewhat like a proud parent as she told the nurses about his sign language skills.

The funniest part of the day was that they showed him the anaesthesia mask and told him that it would taste like "bubble gum" (which he's never tried). We asked for other flavors and they mentioned strawberry (he is addicted to strawberries). We turned and asked Coen if he wanted strawberry and he instantly did the sign for it which he learned the day before. Hilarious.

We later walked Coen to the door to the operating area and said goodbye. Fortunately, he did not cry while he was still in sight. I'm sure it started soon thereafter.

The procedure took just over an hour after which they called us back so we could talk to the doctor. I had flashbacks of sitting in that same room six months previous not having a clue what was truly wrong with our baby and having absolutely no clue as to the potential scope of the issue (we were told mild cerebral palsy at the time). This time, I felt far more confident.

When the doctor came in, she was in good spirits (always a good sign). She discussed the procedure in detail (she's thorough and analytical, which I love). Here are the highlights:

1 - When she tested his hip's range of motion while under the general anaesthesia, he actually tested more positive than any of us expected. The first test was moving his leg vertically (imagine lying on your back and moving your knee up to a 90-degree point). "At ease", he was contracted to 80-degrees, or nearly totally up. She was able to move him down to 40-degrees (zero being flat on the ground). The scary part of this is that he was under very heavy anaesthesia and his heart-rate was still spiking during this process (in other words, he was in some serious sub-conscious pain). She mentioned that they use a "quick hit" drug that is 10X more powerful than morphine. As a parent, you absolutely detest hearing these things, but what are the alternatives that work? It's such a bind to be in...

2 - Abduction test (imagine standing up and doing a jumping jack with your left leg going outward) - Amazingly, she stretched him to 60-degrees, which is his highest measurement yet (of course, this is being totally "under"). Normally, he's about 20-degrees (nothing really).

3 - Adduction test (imagine swinging your leg inward) - This test was far less positive, which is not surprising as he's never shown much motion in this direction. I think I remember her saying that he tested at 15-degrees is all.

She then moved on to the steroid injection, the first step being obviously to find the optimal point of injection. She had to take three different approaches to this as a result of the scar tissue build up around the joint capsule (apparently semi-confirmation of her "septic"/infection theory). She ended up having to go from the inner thigh area, sticking the needle all the way across into his joint capsule. This kid is going to be in some pain for a few days...

I don't remember everything that she said, but the other key points are as follows:

1 - The bulk of the scar tissue is around the joint capsule, which is making the hip "frozen" (to use her term). Imagine that the hip is supposed to have a conical range of motion and yet Coen is blocked from the bulk of this range because the joint capsule has so much scar tissue build-up that the space is restricted and the hip simply can't move (not to mention the enormous pain that this movement causes).

2 - The muscles showed signs of scar tissue as well, but not as much as she expected. She has always been very honest with us (one of many reasons I respect her) and has always led us to expect an eventual surgery to "lengthen" (by cutting) his muscles. Today, for the first time, she said, "perhaps we won't have to do that". Why not? Well, if the injections reduce the inflammation in the area, the joint capsule scar tissue will eventually break apart, increasing hip motion and thereby beginning to loosen up the muscles through use (long process with much rehab, but still!). His hip muscles have never been used, so right now there is the residual effect of them locking up. It's going to take a lot of protracted and painful stretching...

3 - She was able to get far more than expected steroid into the joint capsule (by concentration not volume) which is great as the concentration will hopefully aid the impact.

I'm sure I'm forgetting things here, but it's tough to retain all of this when you know your baby is waiting for you. So, after the (great) debrief, Tauni was permitted to go back and nurse (a by then very frantic) Coen. About 15 minutes later, I was able to go back as well after he changed rooms.

In a non-bragging way, I must say that this kid is somewhat of a miracle. After what he went through this morning, he has not cried for more than about thirty seconds all day long. Granted, he has some serious meds in him, but he is so used to living with pain and discomfort now that these things just do not seem to bother him (seem being the key word). It's incredible what he has learned to live with. He's far tougher than his Dad.

Well, it may just be another baby step, but it's a step forward nonetheless. :)

Coen Stands & Jayd Becomes Single

The little man is now standing for a few seconds and loving it (he stands like an offensive lineman bracing himself for a hit/fall). His hip/leg contraction makes it tough to balance, but he's a little trooper. This week brings a surgery that will hopefully continue to improve the situation.

In other news, Jayd is now single after losing his wedding ring during a bridge jump off the MoPac pedestrian bridge here in Austin. Nobody's terribly bummed as it wasn't a great or expensive ring anyway (just need to find a cheap replacement!). The only bummer was that Kayla and Kalsea did not join me, even after 20 minutes of waiting! Video here (notice my little man's awesome 'proud of his dad' moment at the 20-second mark):



Finally, if you are politically inclined at all and curious about gas prices, this may help explain a few things: here.

#2

As surreal as it still seems, baby number two is on the way people. ETA: Early December 2008. Stoked, to say the least. Now we wait to see if Coen has a little brother or sister coming to join the party.

I know some people like to keep their name options secret, but not us. We're totally transparent. So, here you go: If he's a boy - Tex. If she's a girl - Texi. Done (that was easy).

Coen Pics Galore

Every so often, I dump the trillions of pictures that Tauni takes onto my own computer. Without fail, the process produces proud father moments in spades. Here are some recent faves.

Here is Coen not in the mood to explain to the camera why the bulk of his body most likely tastes like "vodka marinara" sauce (Alternate title: "Back off paparazzi!").
Because of his hip situation, the little man still can't walk. Fortunately, he has resourcefully come up with his own substitute (and trust me, he is addicted to strolling sidewalks and retail stores with daddy's size 13's) (don't look too closely or you'll notice that dad is reading Gourmet magazine; he later attempted the "light and fluffy southern biscuits" which ended up more like "hard-packed texas clay"; he's back to being a guy now):

Like dorky Father, like hopefully-not-as-inevitably-dorky son:

Caught looking far too much like an Abercrombie model for dad's taste (no thanks to Kayla):
He just started standing last week and he is LOVING it (almost as much as intentionally concluding his performance by falling on dad's gut):
And, finally, his pride and joy -- the Brobee shirt. If he could speak in this picture, he'd be saying "BROBEE ON MY SHIRT! BROBEE ON MY SHIRT! BROBEE ON MY SHIRT!" repeated for at least thirty minutes. Coen loves "the little green one".