IHH Picnic

Saturday was the big Intermountain Healing Heart Family Picnic. We had so much fun. It was great to see all our heart buddies and have a reason to go to the hospital for a party instead of pokes and xrays.



I remember attending this picnic last year while I was still pregnant and scared to death of what the future would bring. We met so many amazing families and it gave me such hope to see kids running around everywhere and I couldn't tell which were the heart kids and which ones were healthy. I was glad that I could give a little something back to the group by organizing the party this year.



Jack got to play with his buddy Daxton who got a new heart last September. Last fall these two were so tiny and sick, and look at them now!




I bought Jack a cool "Chicks Dig Scars" t-shirt.

We had a heart shapped dessert contest, and people were SO creative. I loved seeing what everyone came up with. I wish I could claim that I was cool enough to have made this awesome cake, but uh, see that big, boring tupperware toward the back of the picture full of big boring heart shaped rice krispie treats? Ya, those were mine.

We had a fun little craft project.

Jack helped Grandpa who came to the party and made everyone snow cones.

Thanks to all who came. It was so good to see you.

Another highlight of the party was that we got to meet Brooke, a 23 year old HLHS survivor. She is married, graduated from college, and is one of the first people to have all three surgeries. She still has all her own anatomy, doesn't have a pacemaker, and they just got the go ahead to try to have a baby. Amazing! I told her that if she gets pregnant she had better start a blog and document it so we can all check in on her daily. It's pretty cool.

A Parade

I took Jack to his first parade on Saturday. Those who know me well know that I am a parade and festival junkie, so I'm trying to train him young so he'll want to come with me to fun events unlike his party pooper father (just kidding sweetheart! :) I had helped coordinate it for South Jordan this year, so I especailly wanted to go and it was great.

Jack fell asleep on our way there so he missed the first half, but then he woke up and had a pretty good time. As soon as the last entry went by he finally started to wave which made me laugh.

His favorite part? Yep - the candy. He liked the crinkly wrappers, tossing things around, and banging them together. I'm hoping he'll do better on the 4th when he's got cousins to show him how it's really done.

Other than that we've just been packing our house and getting ready to move. We're also trying to get things ready for the Intermountain Healing Hearts Family Picnic this Saturday. I'm in charge and hoping I've got everything ready. We can't wait to see all our heart buddies.

Ta Da!

If you can't tell what he's trying to do, it's this.

In addition to now being an excellent stander (while holding onto something sturdy), Jack's latest trick is that he has learned how to pivot. Sit him on his bum in the middle of a pile of toys and he can turn himself in circles to reach them all. He's also getting good crawling practice each day as I stack blocks or cups just out of his reach and he has to work hard to get close enough to crash them down then bursts into fits of laughter at how clever he is. I have no doubt that the day we are moving when we need him to hold still will be the day he decides to become mobile.

...and then it started to rain

A week or two ago we took Jack to watch his little buddies play baseball at the park. The kids played well and Jack had fun...and then it started to rain.


A few days later we took a trip to Ikea to get out of the house (since it was raining outside).


Later in the week we went to Wheeler Farm with some friends and posed with the turkeys...and then it started to rain.

One day we tended Jack's cousins and played on the play ground and were having so much fun...then it started to rain.

Are you catching the trend here? We love the rain, but boy are we ready for some sunshine!

A New House for Jack

After a crazy year of ups and downs, and lots of on again off again house hunting, we are finally buying a house! It's just perfect and we can't wait to move in next month. We completed the inspection today and things are looking good in terms of our funding so hopefully we won't have any unsightly hiccups like the last time we tried to buy (i.e. everything falling apart at the very last minute, practically sending me into early labor. Not good)

It even comes with a fabulous swing set for Jack and a nice big man cave...I mean family room, so the party's at our house

Now we just have to find someone to rent our condo and we're in great shape. If you know anyone looking for a nice little 3 bedroom, 2 bath townhouse on the east side of West Jordan, send them our way. :D