Brooklyn Elizabeth Polk

We'd like to start off by saying thank you to everyone for all of your prayers, words of encouragement, and love over the last few months. We couldn't have made it this far without you and are sincerely thankful for the impact that all of you have had in our lives.

Earlier today, we met with the geneticist to go over the results of the genetic testing that finally came in last week. The testing revealed that Brooklyn does not have CFC as the doctors previously thought. Instead, she has a similar genetic disorder called Costello Syndrome(CS). Costello Syndrome has many of the same symptoms as CFC and several of the other syndromes (Turner, Noonan) the doctors thought Brooklyn might have. It is extremely rare (less than 300 cases worldwide). There is only one gene that is responsible for Costello Syndrome, but there are several different mutations of that gene. The gene mutation that affects Brooklyn is called G13C and is rare even among people with Costello Syndrome. From what we have read, there are less than 10 people with Brooklyn's mutation in the world.

Unfortunately, Costello Syndrome is thought of as more severe than the other related syndromes because of the increased developmental delays and the high probability of cancer in people with Costello Syndrome. The great news is that there are no known cases of someone developing cancer with Brooklyn's gene mutation. Just like the rest of us, no one can rule out the possibility of cancer, but hopefully her chances will be pretty low. We will be taking her in for regular chest and stomach sonograms to screen for tumors. She'll also get regular brain MRIs and a urinalysis to check for the same thing.

The doctor did comment on how impressed she was about Brooklyn's oral skills at this age. Most people with CS don't start eating by mouth until age 2-4. She is already able to take some bottles which is a great sign. Also, all of her heart issues are very minor. The doctor commented that Brooklyn's heart conditions are milder than most children she she's with some of the other "better" syndromes.

We are so grateful for this little girl and are thrilled that God has entrusted her to us. She is His perfect creation and we know that he created her this way for a reason. He has a plan for her and for our family that we don't understand right now, but in His time will be revealed to us. We will push her to do as many "normal" things as we can. We will not shelter her forever and will encourage her to try new things. She will love, she will laugh, she will succeed, and she will fail. Just like everyone else. We are committing our family to live life to the fullest and appreciate every day for what it is...a gift from God.

Below is a youtube link of a video we put together:

http://youtu.be/7_Mq-R4PkVY

We love you all,

Jeremy & Jenny

6 Weeks Old

I can not believe it... our little man is 6 weeks old. He is putting on weight like crazy.
At 5 weeks he weighed 13 lbs, so I wouldn't be suprised if he is close to 14 by now, lol.
I love all his little rolls and his big chubby thighs. We are pushing size 1 diapers, will soon be in 2!
The best thing about this week is he has starting grinning. BIG toothless grins at his daddy and me :)
They will melt your heart.

Yes, this last picture is a smile. I couldn't ever catch it just right, but in all of them he was smiling.
I love when he gives me those big toothless grins.
It makes the middle of the night feedings absolutely worth it.

Sneak Peek #2

All I have to say is.... LOVE IT!!

Landon, our good friend and photographer, has been teasing us by posting one pic at a time up. This is todays photo. :) We go tonight to view all the pictures. I can't wait to see them all.

The photo shoot was a blast, well lol, let me reword that. The photo shoot was great and eventful. Landon was very patient with us. Naked baby in a photo studio = challenging. I think it was the first pose, Dylan was laying on his side in this adorable basket on a nice fluffy blanket, he decided Landon's studio needed to be sanitized. He peed EVERYWHERE. I tried to catch it, lol, yes catch it. I managed to cup my hands to where most of it just soaked the blanket he was on. It still ended up all over the floor, lol. So we changed out the blanket and kept shooting pics, and yes he peed on that one too.

Needless to say EVERY blanket I took plus some of Landon's stuff ended up with some kind of baby fluid on it, lol.

Dylan wasn't too fond of laying on his stomach for poses and being cold meant fussy baby. Jeremy is amazing with him, he would calm him down in between shoots. The picture above, was a improvised hammock using one of the blankets Landon had in the studio. Jeremy and I are holding each side of it. When he would get fussy we would swing him back and forth, pause and snap a few photos. Worked wonders!!! (Grandmothers don't cringe at this, lol, he was barely even off the ground)

I'll try and post more pictures soon. Dylan is one of Landon's mini models so I am thinking some of the shots will be on his website. I'll post the link once they are up.

Sneak Peek!

This morning we took Dylan for his one month old photoshoot! Here's a sneak peak of the pics...

Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more.

Yes that is a tornado and yes that is the school right beside my house! Scary?!?! Scariest part was that me and Dylan were here at the house and I absolutely didn't have a clue!!! Our neighbor took this picture. For those of you unfamiliar with this area. Our house is located between the school and the tornado in the picture. It touched down just southeast of here. Luckily, it didn't do any damage or hurt anyone. Goodness! I guess I better start paying attention to the weather.

Dylan 1 Month

Dylan is 1 month old today!

One month ago today the Lord blessed us with this sweet little bundle of joy. The time has flown by. I still remember every moment of that day. I am enjoying every moment I get with this little man. He is growing like crazy. He was born at 9.5 lbs and 21 1/2" long. At his 2 week check-up he weighed 10.7 lbs and 22" long. At 3 weeks and 5 days he weighed right at 12 lbs. I absolutely LOVE his chunky legs, and how his arms and face are filling out.

We went in today for shots, not fun! At least he only had to have 1 today. Next time it's 2. At least we have a month though. We do not have to go back until he is 2 months.

As I was waiting for the elevator to leave today, a lady (also lugging around an infant carrier) asked me how old Dylan was. Turned out Dylan at a month looks just as big as her 10 week old, lol. Got to love my healthy boy.

I will try my hardest to continue to update this with new pictures!

Lots of love~
Jen

4 months later - I blog!

So it's been awhile since my last post. I am going to try really really hard to start blogging more and getting in the hang of it. I know once the little guy gets here my world is going to be turned upside down.

The past 4 months have been absolutely flown by. It is hard to believe that I am now 4 weeks away from my due date. Since my last post we discovered that the little baby in my tummy is most definitely a boy. His name is going to be Jeremiah Dylan Polk. He will have the same initials as his daddy and his grandpa, JDP. But we are going to call him Dylan.

Little Dylan will be here before we know it. I absolutely can not wait to meet him.

Here are a few of the 3-D sonogram pictures we had done at 30 weeks.

It is so amazing to get to see so much detail of him. I love every bit of him. God has blessed us so much already. We are so excited to get to meet our little miracle that God has given us.

Love,

Jen