Thursday, May 26, 2011

Big Brother


Look at that face!  Jack is a HUGE fan of his new baby brother Tyler.  He almost wouldn't let Grandma and Grandpa have a turn holding the baby and just kept saying, "Awww. He's so cute" while giving him sweet hugs and kisses.  Good thing Tyler was born big and sturdy (8 lbs 6 oz) so he can handle some good brotherly love.

Jack is now going to spend the holiday weekend with his cousins at my parents cabin in Heber while Hardy and I stay home and figure out what to do with a newborn since we've never really had to care for one as Jack was 3 weeks old before he came home. What a huge difference this labor and delivery has been from what we experienced with Jack. This little guy arrived just 2 short hours after they broke my water. He's pink and healthy and we've spent the day snuggling and trying to figure out how to eat. It's been a delight and so much less stressful.  We can't wait to see what tomorrow brings. 

Monday, May 23, 2011

Jack's Crazy Kitchen

This weekend I got the “Awesome Mom” award.


On Saturday morning Jack woke up and the first words out of his mouth were, “I want to play with my kitchen.” He was shocked and sorely disappointed when I informed him that he does not have and has never had a kitchen. I don’t know where he got the notion that he did. Thankfully Hardy distracted him with some good morning yard work, which Jack absolutely loves, but a few hours later Jack was requesting his kitchen again.

Lucky for Jack I was having a rare burst of energy and I recalled an article in Family Fun magazine a few months ago that showed how to make a kitchen out of boxes (I even managed to find said article without much effort). So a few random boxes, some duct tape, and about an hour later and Jack now has his very own kitchen. It has a sink and faucet, stove top, microwave, upper and lower cupboards, and eventually will have an oven when I can bend over again. It’s kind of crazy, but thankfully the audience isn’t picky, and maybe, just maybe I’ll invest in some spray paint to fix it up nicely. Not this week though. I’ve got a baby coming in 3 days. In the meantime, Jack loves it.

I’m totally giving myself a pat on my back for creating this, especially at 9 months pregnant.


Wednesday, May 4, 2011

My Little Letter Lover

It's long, but he's brilliant. What can I say? Some kids carry around blankets or stuffed animals. Jack carries around a foam letter E (his favorite). Crazy kid.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Cardiology Appointment

Yesterday Jack had his semi-annual cardiology appointment. Thankfully it went fantastic. His past 2 check-ups have involved him screaming the entire time ‘til he cries himself to sleep in my arms so Dr. P can listen to his heart. But finally he seems to be old enough that it went much, much smoother. He cried a bit during his x-ray, but then he held still and listened to a story while getting his blood pressure and O2 sats checked. He helped the nurse count the stickers as she put them on his chest for his EEG and told her the colors and letters on each of the “noodles” as she attached them to the stickers. We played with bubbles and ate M&Ms to keep him happy and entertained as Dr. P listened to his heart. The nurse even said he was her easiest all day. I had heard rumors that appointments would eventually get easier, but I finally believe them.


The best news is that Jack looks fantastic. His o2 was 83-88 which Dr. P was even impressed by. I got the impression that he was kind of thinking we’d do his next surgery, the Fontan, this fall, but looking at the numbers, his best guess was that early next summer would probably be a good time. We like the sound of that. How nice to have another normal year without the stress of pending surgery.

Just 4 more weeks until Jack’s baby brother arrives. He is getting very excited and keeps asking if he can have a baby. Sure thing – I’m working on it. Any time I groan because of a big baby kick Jack will run over and kiss my belly. Very sweet. I think we’re all ready for this little fella to make his appearance any time now.

The nurse asked Jack to help her put on the "noodles" (wires) so he put one in his mouth.

Look at those cute big muscles

Catching bubbles