A Whole Lotta!

We have had quite the amazing summer that seems to have flown by.

Vinnie turned three June 29th and has started preschool. At the three year mark his weekly therapy sessions discontinued and we enrolled him in special needs preschool. This allows him to have 16 hours of learning and therapy with specialists a week rather than just 3 hours a week. The goal is to catch him up verbally and socially to his age. Therefore he would be able to begin kindergarten with children his age. If he doesn't make it by then that is a ok. Thankfully now days there are plenty of options to assist him through school!

His teachers are amazing and he loves it so much. On the weekends he will even bring his backpack to us because he wants to go. For the first school year he will go Monday through Thursday in the mornings. The preschool follows the same schedule as the K-6 classes so it is a good adjustment for Joe and I to prep for the long haul. When Vinnie first started school in August I was not your typical mom saddened that my baby was going off to school, but was mostly concerned about the bus ride he would be taking from school to daycare! Needless to say adventurous Vinnie loves the bus ride and his bus driver is really great.

Vinnie is still not talking yet, but has started learning sign language. So far he has please down the best, but we are also working on eat and more. We'll continue down the path of learning sign for now to better communicate with him, but will continue to work on verbal skills also.

Health wise he is doing very good! We were somewhat apprehensive of putting a permanent shunt in, but are so happy that we did. He has really advanced since having the surgery a year and a half ago. He will likely need several revisions in his lifetime, but after he is fully grown he will probably only need revisions once a decade.

Also, in new news we were happy to announce in July that we are expecting Karnes baby #2! My due date is March 18th, but I will actually deliver in the end of February (between 36-37 weeks). I will spare you the minor details, but basically since Vinnie was so early I had to have a classic C section during the emergency delivery. With subsequent pregnancies I will have to always deliver between 36-37 weeks to avoid potential health risks to the baby or me.

This weekend marks 20 weeks along with baby Karnes the second. My water broke at 19 weeks with Vinnie so I am very happy to report we are past that point and all is going very well. The only intervention I am having is weekly progesterone shots and I will likely have one extra ultrasound than a woman would typically have. So I don't have to go back to the doctor every week for the shots Joe went through training with nurse practitioner on how to administer the shots. Thankfully he is pretty good at it!

We feel very blessed with how this pregnancy has gone so far and are thankful we were given the chance to expand our family more.

It's been a while!

Vinnie's don't drink and drive campaign.


Ok ok ok. So I'm a slacker. Maybe it would help if I told you the reason I have not posted in so long is because we've been having just too much fun with Vinnie Joe.

A lot has changed with Vinnie in the past few months. He has walking down to a T and has mastered running now. To be honest it scares the heck out of us. His favorite way to run is as fast as he can full speed ahead while looking sideways. His other favorite thing to do is to spin in circles as fast as he can. Our next major investment may be a line of helmets for him.

Last May Vinnie had his permanent VP shunt placed to reduce his hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain). So far we have only had one scare where I thought it was malfunctioning.

This past winter he went through a phase where he was really tired for a days. He was sleeping more than normal. His daycare called me during that time and said he could not seem to keep anything down one day. (Both were signs of a shunt malfunction) I think I was out the door and driving by the time they said "Ms. Karnes? This is ......." On the way to get him I called his neurologist who told us to immediately go to the emergency room. If you know me then you know I am typically a calm easy going person, but when it comes to Vinnie in the danger zone I turn into the hulk. If you have a vivid imagination then you can picture me pulling up to the LeBohner emergency room and not being able to find a parking spot. Then you can also picture me doing the only logical thing which was parking right out front in the tow away zone and rushing inside like my pants were on fire, but that's another story. Let's get back on track here.





We ended up staying the night at LeBohner to complete a full shunt survey (where they check the function of the shunt through cat scans, x rays, etc) Turns out the shunt was 100% perfect and Vincent's parents ah not so much :) Final diagnosis: stomach bug/cold. Good dry run people!

The day after Vinnie was released from the hospital was Halloween. There was no major trick or treating in store for us, but I could not let his super awesome lion outfit go to waste. I pondered on what Vinnie was going to be for halloween over the course of a few months. I looked for his costume at the store for about an hour. He was the cutest lion for 2 minutes and 42 seconds. Just enough time for a few pictures to capture this treasured, joyous moment forever:


Even the costume looks sad. The mane on the lion is supposed to be standing up.

So we are up to Halloween 2010. The next blog addition will cover our trip to New Mexico, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years! You don't want to miss it! Never a dull moment :)

Help me reach my goal!Sponsor Me at March for Babies!

Vincent turns 2!

Can you believe it because I sure can't!!

For Vinnie's birthday this year we decided to keep the celebration down to the good stuff. You know cake, pizza, presents. Does it get any better than that? In normal fashion he was spoiled rotten with gifts from his grandma's, aunts, and uncles. I think we are going to have to build on to our house to make another room just for all of his stuff :). No matter what toys, books, etc we get Vinnie his favorite things to play with is still the simple stuff. His favorites are remote controls, kitchen items (spoons, measuring cups) and homemade bottle shakers.

A month prior to his 2nd birthday Vinnie finally had his VP shunt surgery. If you recall about a year ago he went to his first neurologist appointment since his head was growing faster than normal. They discovered he had hydrocephalus.

For the past year we have been monitoring the fluid on his brain with frequent appointments. At his last appointment his neurologist said he did not see any improvement and suggested going ahead with the shunt placement. Of course I was reluctant at first as it is a life long man made machine that will require maintenance and can lead to further problems such as brain infections. At his appointment his doctor took me to the area they view CAT scans. After researching hydrocephalus on my own and viewing his first scans compared to the ones he was showing me their was no decision to be made. Vinnie needed it. In the scans you could tell most of his head was fluid and could see where the fluid was putting pressure on his brain tissue. His scan revealed he had about 55% fluid and 45% brain tissue.

It has now been just over 2 months since his surgery and he is doing very well. In very exciting news the week prior to his surgery Vinnie started taking his first independent steps and never missed a beat after the surgery. He is now a full on walker and even runs too! He also seems to be into discovering more at home and loves the outdoors. His daycare teachers report that he is more interested in different toys and activities. His physical therapist let us know that she will only be visiting once a month now since Vinnie is doing so well. He will still receive speech and occupational therapy. No words yet, but I think we are on the brink!

In other news Vinnie moved up to the next level room at daycare this week. He has more room to run and will work on eating at a table, with silverware, and soon we'll we on to what I am sure is the grand world of potty training.

Enjoy the pictures! He is growing so fast!!!

Rained out

Our March for Babies walk was canceled yesterday due to severe weather. The tornado sirens were going off and we were getting golf ball size hail. Needless to say it would have been more like swimming the 4 mile walk.

Thanks to everyone who sponsored us! Joe and I still plan on completing the 4 miles at Shelby Farms perhaps next weekend. Heck it may produce more entertaining pictures.

So what to do on a stuck in the house Saturday? Play with this little guy of course.



Vinnie has taken a liking to sitting on our regular couch rather than the hardwood floor. Can't say I blame him. Although he has also taken a liking to attempting to head dive off of our couch. He's wild. We thought it best to get him his own little couch. If he decides to take a dive we're talking a belly flop at best.

He was soooo excited when we took it out of the box yesterday. He just sat on it and giggled and would get off of it and back on just giggled the day away. Oh the smallest things are always the funniest. Who knew someday we would be entertained by a 2 year old having a hay day on a backyardigans couch :)

One Small Step For Man, One Giant Leap for Vinnie!

I am proud to announce Vinnie has officially taken his first steps. At his physical therapy a few weeks ago (his therapist goes directly to our daycare) she sent home a note that said "Vincent took two independent steps today." Her hand writing was a little jumbled so of course we thought can this be right as we have been working and working with him with no avail. Sure enough though! She gave us some tips to help him out such as putting his back against a wall standing where basically he would have no choice but to step. It works!!! I officially think that their needs to be a parents handbook of tips.

In other news even though Vinnie is not walking completely yet he is moving around quickly and getting into everything. If you are a parent you know at times this can be funny and scary all at the same time. For example last weekend Vinnie was playing on the floor in the kitchen while I was cleaning up lunch. I saw our dogs come in to get some grub out of the dog food bowl and heard them clanking around. I guess when our pups left the kitchen Vinnie thought he'd get in on the action. I turned around and sure enough it was not the dog anymore, but Vinnie trying a piece of dog food to see what he was missing out on! It must have been some pretty good stuff because he threw a fit when I took it away. Eeek! Other times he will be right in front of you and then off like a race horse. His most common spot to run off to is the washer and dryer show as we call it. He is fascinated by these front load machines. Oh the things that entertain them now. Before I know it he'll be asking for a car. Maybe I'll suggest to him that the washer and dryer show is still playing instead?

We're gearing up next weekend to go to the March of Dimes fundraiser March for Babies. This will be our second year participating. Thanks to everyone who sponsored us! We're so blessed to have such great friends and family who support us in our endeavors. We'll get our walk on for ya!!! In addition to the walk for babies I have joined forces with my family in Nebraska in support of the American Heart Association in remembrance of my father. My hope is through our work we can help even just one person get the preventative or life saving care they need even if it is someone we will never meet in our lifetimes. My dad never came across a stranger, just friends he hadn't met yet. It's important for me personally to carry this frame of mind on and general support for everyone; even people I do not know.

Enjoy the new pictures! We took the Vinmiester to the zoo for the first time last weekend. He had a blast. I think it will take up about 4 trips to make it through the whole zoo so we signed up for a membership. He was so excited he crashed after an hour. Ok, so maybe we were so excited to show him everything that we tuckered him out :) We also took him on his first adventure to a hibachi grill. The chopsticks were the highlight of his trip.

Vinnie is growing up so fast. He is moving out of the baby stage and is starting to look more and more like a little boy everyday. I typically don't see this until I look at pictures because I think I will forever have engrained in my brain that little 2 lb 10 oz baby. Of course Joe thinks I will hinder him by spoiling him, but I just think he'll be a momma's boy. What's wrong with that?!? I can't believe he will be 2 in a little over 2 months. What a journey it's been! Stay tuned!!!


Happy two year anniversary to my wonderful husband! I must have done something very good to deserve a grand husband like you ;)

Uncle Jeremey Says So!

After the persistance of Vinnie's uncle Jeremey reminding me that we are quite over due for a Vinnie blog here we go! It is only appropriate that I highlight a few of the good times those two have together.


Vinnie doing the heisman!


Vinnie and Jeremey's breakfast extravaganza.


Vinnie's super awesome hat from the one and only Uncle Jeremey

To say the least a lot has happened since my last Vinnie post! Looking back at the pictures on my last post he has grown up so much.

Luckily this winter we have been pretty lucky sickness wise. I think daycare (although terrible at first since he was out sick more than he was there) has helped build up his immunity. Our biggest scare was in Decemeber when Vinnie got the virus we don't speak of RSV. If you recall it was life threatening to him when he was an infant. Now that he is older it just seemed like a bad cold. Besides that he has had a few infections and that's about it!

Vinnie now has about 12 teeth. His eye teeth just came in these past few weeks and boy was that fun. I imagine no one warned me how bad those suckers were going to be since it was probably tough for all you parents too and you put that memory in file 13! :)

He is getting very close to walking and our goal is to have him walking by 2. He finally was approved and switched over to Mississippi Early Intervention. We have a team of three therapists who visit him once a week at daycare. He sees an occupational, physical, and speech therapist.

At his 18 month appointment Vinnie's pediatrician said he was showing the early signs of Autism. We will continue to work with him the best we can, but it is still too early to be diagnosed for sure. I wasn't surprised to hear this as his lack of eye contact for example was something I always noticed. Who knows, he could be a late bloomer. Worst case senerio we will work with it. I still feel blessed everyday to just have him here. I think back to those long nights in the hospital asking god to just help him make it here and then when he was in the NICU to just give him enough strength to make it through. I would take any challenges that came with and I meant it. To me he is just amazing and wonderful in every way!

Vinnie is now 20 months old and is doing all sorts of new exciting things! I laugh when I write that he is 20 months because before I became a mother I thought it was silly that people told people their childs age in months after they were one. It is hard to believe in a couple of months he is going to be 2 (then I can drop the month talk right?)!

After months of playing pat a cake he learned to clap this past weekend! It was hands down the most impressive thing I have seen all year :)

I have so many pictures to post which I will put up soon!