Semi - Wordless Wednesday

Seen this on other blogs, thought it was a good idea. They have Wordless Wednesday, but you know me, i can't be TOTALLY silent :)

Playing baseball in the back yard. Colin has the stance down, just has to swing, so daddy won't hit him with the ball

Look at him shove it in there, notice how much is on the plate!Not much left after all expect for a BIG mess!My beautiful Artist!What are big sisters for! Poor ColinI'm a big boy, no need for a high chair! Downtown Houston - Beautiful day for the Bayou City Arts festival!
Yummy Yummy beignets for breakfast!

1 1/2 years & Katherine

This week Colin turned 1 1/2 years old! Can you believe it, where has the time gone? He is maturing a lot lately, no more a baby, he is turning into a little boy! And I love it, don't get me wrong, I love babies and baby things, but I really enjoy the toddler and up phase. I love watching him develop a personality. Colin is now in the Two's room at school (actually it's 18 months until 3rd birthday).
Colin's Updates:
- Just had 6 month cardiology check up, all went well and we got back in 5-6 months
- If all remains the same, doctor wants to wait until he turns 4 possibly 5 for his Fontan surgery
- Weight at pediatrician - 20 lbs 8 oz, weight at home a little more, so getting closer to 21 pounds
- Length: 30 inches! Still at the bottom of the chart, but getting closer!
- Down to 2 bottles a day, morning & night, working on getting rid of those
- At school drinks his milk out of his Sippy cup! This took a long time. He would always drink water & juice out of it, but would pitch a fit about milk being in a cup and not a bottle. But in the Two year old room they drink from cups, so he has accepted that!
- Knows the part of his body and will point to them when asked
- Walks everywhere, doesn't care much for stroller or being carried anymore
- Constantly talking, favorite word still SNACK
- Knows the word blue and will point to blue objects and tell you Bluuuuueee
- Has stopped biting! Now we are working on NO SLAPPING :)
- Can throw temper tantrums very well
- Knows what time out is :)
- Has a very silly personality, loves to laugh, tickle, cuddle, give kisses!

It's been awhile since I update on Katherine, so here it goes:
- Really enjoys her preschool class - always taking about school
- Her writing is coming along great, she is getting to the point where she is not tracing letters anymore
- Looking at a word, she can write it on her own
- Loves to play dress up, art & crafts, and bake
- Doing well at soccer and at school is also in a special fitness class, that covers exercise and teaches them about being healthy.
- Due to that class, she pointed at her butt this week and told me it's her Gluteus maximus !
- Related to that, her teacher commented that Katherine does really really well at retaining information
- She is 34 pounds and 39.5 inches
- She does really well at games we have downloaded for her: memory matching and adding, she really likes the addition game
- Has a beautiful imagination

- Is very silly, I think this is where Colin learned it from!

- Loves to read books and go to Barnes & Nobles

I am very blessed to have these two in my life, they make everything worth while! And I can't forget Matt too! Though he doesn't get a "status update" on the blog, he is my best friend and I love him more than the day I married him. These two would be hard to manage without him!

Fall is Here

Fall is here, well for Texas that is. All weekend the temp was nice and cool and in the mid to low 80's. I love this weather! It was a very nice weekend. Wish it could always be sunny and 80 degrees!

Saturday Katherine had a great soccer game, she scored her first goal in a game! She, and all of us, were so excited for her. Colin got to go hang out at the Zoo that day. Matt's mom was having their company picnic and since Katherine had her game, Colin got to go with them all by himself. We just told Katherine that they took him shopping, one thing she would not miss out on. We spent the afternoon playing in the backyard, having water balloon fights, and enjoying our fall weather. Matt smoked some ribs, yummy.

Sunday it was so nice, we went down to Galveston for the morning/afternoon. We got down there and it was about 75 degrees, not warm enough to go to the beach, but a great day to visit the shops on The Strand. We had a nice lunch outside looking at the nice cruise ship and of course stopped and got ice cream. Katherine and Colin loved playing chess on the big oversize chess board out there. Then back home to watch the Texans win and grill some fajitas! Also Colin turned 18 months on Sunday, I will do another post on that later this week.

6 month cardiology check up

Colin had a great 6 month check up with his cardiologist yesterday. We don't have to go back for another 5-6 months! Thankfully Matt's mom came with me, the appointment was 3 hours long, it's good to tag team a toddler!
Colin had an echo done, which was non-sedated. The technician and I were worried about a 1 1/2 year old sitting still for it, but he did great. At first when I put him on the hospital bed, he cried, so I laid with him. He laid on me, watched cartoons, and ate a lollipop and let the echo tech do her job. I was very proud of him.

Then they took his height and weight - 29 inches, and they had just under 20 lbs but pediatrician has just over 20 lbs.. So basically he is 20 lbs. Which they are happy with, he has gained over 2 pounds since our last visit. His cardiologist says because I am small and Katherine is small, Colin might just not have it in his jeans to be a big baby anyways.

Blood pressures were good. Colin's oxidation saturations were around 85/86 which is about right.. He ranges anywhere from 85% - 90%.. Most of the time about 87%. So they are happy with that. His echo looked good, no change from last time. We are keeping our eye on one his heart values, it has a slight leak. It had a major leak, but during his 1st surgery (Norwood) they worked on it and it has remained unchanged since then. As long as it stays as is, they are happy with it. If it gets worse, we will have to address it. But his doctor was happy enough with it, that at his next appointment we will not have to get an echo, just a chest x-ray.

I told his doctor the best thing that has changed since our last visit, how much Colin LOVES to eat. How he begs for food, he wants food, he loves food, all kinds of food. For so long my prayers at night were related to feeding & reflux issues. Feeding is a basic fundamental of life and to watch Colin be in so much pain for basic survival wore all of us down. It was more difficult that the heart issue really. But now, his favorite word is snack and he gets ALL the snacks he wants! Colin did have to come home with a halter monitor for 24 hours to make sure he can stay off his propanol, he has been off it for 7 months now and they just want to make sure he is fine without it. Daycare said they would just spoil him extra since it has it on today ;)

The goal still is to have his next surgery (step 3 - Fontan) at 4-5 years old, as long as Colin's heart remains as is. If he regresses, it will be sooner, but his doctor really wants him to be as big as possible. It was a great visit, a little long, but well worth it!
We are so fortunate to only live 15 minutes from the # 3 Pediatric Heart Center in the nation. I love and feel confident in the care Colin receives. It really helps out with such a stressful situation to know you are getting the best care available. So we continue on our journey with very blessed news. There will be appointments in the future where we have to handle more than this, which makes these appointments a gift. A gift we are very thankful for!

I am very thankful for all that support us. I may not say it as often as I should, but thank you all so very much. Our family, our friends, our heart friends who are our lifeline on some issues, my co-workers who are so supportive, and our pediatrician who is also so happy and amazed by Colin's progress. This is easier with you all by our side. We are very blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.

Weekend Shots

Katherine's 2nd soccer game - Saturday.. Cool front was not here yet.. it was a Hot one!


Houston Aboretum Nature Walk - Sunday - Cool front came in, lovely weather

Katherine's 1st Soccer Game & Kannon goes home

This weekend Katherine had her very first soccer game. She started off strong, but her attention spanned slowly faded. Good thing we played 6 minute quarters and she came out every other quarter. They all had a great time and got some good exercise in!

My nephew, Kannon got to come home from the hospital and Katherine, Colin, Matt, and my dad got to see him for the first time. Katherine loved cuddling and holding him, Colin.. not interested one bit! :)

Sunday was a rainy, so my uncle had sent Katherine a Pirate Cupcake set, so we made cupcakes.

1 yr Anniversary - Colin's Glenn

One year ago today was a very hard day, one year ago today we had to hand Colin over for the 2nd time trusting in God and his surgeons, one year ago today Colin had his Glenn surgery. It was a hard time between his Norwood and his Glenn with severe feeding issues, round the clock medicines, tracking his weight everyday, measuring his pulse oxidization, keeping records of everything, many, many doctor visits. I was very scared when they said he was ready for the Glenn because "he is showing some signs of heart failure", words a parent NEVER wants to hear. Especially not when your child is less than 6 months old.

We checked in the hospital the night before, it was a very hard night emotionally and Colin would not sleep in the crib, so Matt, Colin, and I slept on the little fold out bed. Katherine came up that night to give her brother good luck kisses. Matt's parents came that night and my parents in the morning. When it was time, they called us up to the pre-op waiting area. We watched cartoons with Colin until they were ready for us. Then the dreaded time came…. As long as I live, I will never forget the feeling of handing Colin over. I did not want to let go, I cried, someone please wake me up from this awful dream.

We waited in that waiting room, it was slightly easier than the first, but still a painful experience to have to go through. They called to let us know that he did great and we would see him soon. All that was put off because there was an emergency in ICU..please don't let it be my son, not that I wish harm on anyone else, but please don't let it be Colin. It wasn't but in a hard fact of life we watched a family loose their child, a girl of 13 waiting on a heart & lung transplant. That day a year ago, put so much in perspective for me, life is an amazing gift we are all given, and a lot of times we don't realize how truly amazing it really is.


One year ago today, this was Colin:

Skip ahead one year:

The last year has been amazing with Colin, first steps, first words, first birthday, first airplane ride, kisses, cuddles, milestones, eating back on track, decrease of medicines. Colin is just like every 1 1/2 year old, he just has a special heart. We are so proud of his strength and courage, he is a fighter. This is a very special day to celebrate for us.

I was saddened last week when a 20 year old man with HLHS went into heart failure and did not make it. We look up to these 1st generation HLHS kids to know what the future holds. But it is not the same plan for all. The future is not written, is not set in stone. We are lucky for every breath Colin breathes and every step he takes. He will fight HLHS his whole life, we will win, but know it's a long battle.

Today I brought in heart shaped cookies to my office (130 people). I sent an email letting everyone know where the cookies where, why today was a special day, and listed some facts on Congenital Heart Defects in hope to raise awareness. So many have sent such nice & caring responses, I am very lucky for all my support systems.

I know we will have to hand Colin over once again in the future for the Fontan, so everyday we give him lots of kisses in hugs, so he knows how much he is loved!