Sunday, October 25, 2009

Boo at the Zoo





This Saturday was Boo at the Zoo in Atlanta. We got free tickets through Children's Hospital of Atlanta's Kids at Heart (a support group for kids and families of kids who have had heart surgery at Egelston Hospital). The Atlanta zoo is small but nicely laid out, and Sam had a pretty good time. All of the kids were dressed up (as was Sam) and there was a really nice family atmosphere. Part of the festivities was a private catered party for Kids at Heart families. The best part was meeting two families we have followed via CarePages for a while. Both are Hypoplastic Right Hearts (like Sam) and one of them goes to Dr. Cardis, like us. It was in some way comforting to look around at the Kids and Heart party and see so many kids and families. I hate that so many people/kids are suffering, but it made us feel not so alone in the world.
After Boo, we drove home and stopped at the Tanger Outlets. We picked up a ton of clothes, shoes, and accessories for all of us. I love a good shopping trip. Sam was still dressed in his costume, and got plenty of attention.

The first thing I wanted to do when I got home was upload our photos from the day. To my shock and horror, they were GONE...no where to be found on the card. I flipped out, and laid in bed pouting for a while. When Sam woke up from his nap, we went out to dinner at the new Mexican restaurant across from our neighborhood. I fed Sam refried beans...damn the consequences. I was super bummed. I made Chris get us ice cream, as I figured that would be the only thing to make me feel better.

I hatched a plan, did some research, and with a recovery software, was able to recover all my lost photos! I know it's dumb to be upset over photos...it's not like I don't already have 4 albums of Sam pictures! But they are back now and that is what matters!

One final story: Today at church, Chris had Sam standing in the pew seat facing the back rest. Naturally, he bumped his mouth. He only cried for a minute but I thought he was giving a funny face. Sure enough, his newest tooth was bleeding near the gum. Sam is on Asprin (and a hefty dose, in my opinion), so he bled and bled and bled. He was swallowing it for the most part, but he got tired of that after a few minutes. He started spitting it out...spraying it EVERYWHERE...all over our new clothes. I grabbed a bunch of paper towels from the bathroom, and had a pile of bloody towels next to me in the pew. This lasted about 3o min.... Man, I hate to think of the adventures when he starts running and jumping and climbing and doing general boy things....

~Kathy






Sunday, October 18, 2009

Another Mobile Weekend





We went to Mobile again this weekend. This time for Brian Cobb's going away party. He is taking a job transfer/promotion to Chicago, and his family threw him a little party. I have known Brian and his family since preschool...his Mom was our teacher! It was really nice hanging out with friends and I hope Brian enjoyed it.

While we were in Mobile, we took Sam to a pumpkin patch. He wasn't a big fan. It was cold and windy and he had just woke up from a nap. Super-crank didn't smile for hardly one picture. We'll have to find another pumpkin patch and go when he's in a better mood.

When we got home tonight, Chris and I lowered Sam's bed, since he is getting really close to pulling up. While we were working, Sam decided he could commando crawl! This is the first time we have seen him doing any form of crawling. I was getting worried that he was taking so long to get to this milestone. He's already proven himself a total faker recently, so for all we know he's been crawling for months, just not in front of us! But we are super proud of him, and are ready to start a new stage in parenthood...the stage where you do nothing but chase a baby all day...

~Kathy

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Sam, the Faker (and Vacation News)


We've been pretty busy recently. We went to Mobile for two more weddings this past weekend. Amazingly we made it to both (they were only an hour apart) and hit up both receptions, too. Sam didn't get much sleep our first night in Mobile, and he never really recovered until he got a nights rest in his bed here at home in Macon. He was super grump all weekend. But, in his defence, he has cut more teeth. He now has two on the bottom and four across the top.

On Monday, when I picked Sam up from school, he was holding a bottle....which is something he doesn't do at home. I was so excited and told the teachers that he hasn't been able to do that and that I was so happy he was learning. They looked at me like I was crazy. They said he's been holding his bottle FOR MONTHS. That Sam had me and Chris fooled! My Mom's theory is that kids have to be a little more independent at daycare, but at home they know Mommy and Daddy will just do it for them. Little punk. Since then, we have made Sam hold his own bottle...which he does LIKE A PRO. And I seriously thought he couldn't do it....

Today, Sam had his cardiologist appointment. He had an echo and EKG, which all looked great. He weighs 22.8 lbs, and is 30 inches long. His oxygen percentage was great...87-89%. He flirted with EVERYONE. And he sat so still during the echo and EKG, which is pretty rare for him. Dr. Cardis thinks he looks wonderful. I rehashed the conversation about the vacation to California. After telling him the exact plans, he still believes we need supplemental oxygen during the flight. But he thinks we will be fine without oxygen in Wrightwood (the mountain town where my grandmother lives). That's a big relief. We'll keep our O2 meter with us, and if his oxygen looks low, we'll have the contact of a durable medical equipment company in California that we can get a tank of oxygen from. But Dr. Cardis doesn't think we'll need it. Sam may have a true white Christmas in the mountains!

Please say some prayers for baby Amelia. She was born premature in April and is still in the hospital working on getting strong enough to come off of supplemental breathing support. This has been (and is becoming more so) a painful journey for her parents and family, and they need to bring her home healthy and happy and SOON!

~Kathy