Christmas Party, Neurosurgeon and Temple Lights

My friend Amanda had her annual Christmas party on the 15th. Preston tagged along, but napped for most of it. We got to meet Amanda's brother and see her dad again. Here's the sweet picture of Michael and me at the party.

On Monday, December 19th, we had our appointment with the neurosurgeon to get Preston's huge, long head checked out. We were kind of nervous going into it, knowing that there was a possibility that Preston would need surgery. The doctor looked at and measured Preston's head. (His gargantuan cranium is measuring 17 1/2 inches!) Then he sent us from his office to get x-rays. Getting x-rays only took about 20 minutes. The wonders of modern medicine!

Newborn head... Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull? Of course he looked perfect to me until the nurses pointed it out and said his head would get better after a while.

Michael went in with Preston to get the x-rays. They swaddled Preston tightly in a special x-ray outfit thingy and then Michael held him in different poses. Preston HATED it! We were able to see the images and have a consultation with the doctor right away. It was kind of funny to see Michael's hands in the x-rays of Preston's skull. Right away the doctor said that he had good news. Preston had wide open sutures! (Click HERE for info about baby skulls and sutures.) I started singing "Wiiiiide open sutures!" to the tune of the Dixie Chicks' "Wide Open Spaces." Obviously I was a music major in college. ha.

Almost 5 month-old head. I definitely see improvement, don't you?

If his sutures had begun to close prematurely, then he would have needed surgery to prevent his head from getting worse and worse, leading to . (And to make room for his genius brain to grow!) So we have a follow up appointment in February to see if his head shape is improving. If not, he might need to have a helmet. I hope not because those things are suuuuper expensive!

On the 20th, we went to the Mesa Temple to see the Christmas lights and the nativity display in the visitors center. I've tried to be a stickler about making sure Preston gets in all of his "firsts" but he usually sleeps through all of them! This was no exception. Hopefully it will be wayyy more fun the next time we go! We walked around and enjoyed our time with Keith, Sarah, and baby Luke.