Jack's Journey

Fun with pom-poms

2012-01-20T14:24:00.000-07:00

I bought a bag of pom-poms at Target for $1, so yesterday we pulled them out for some fun. Jack sorted them by color, and we played a game where we tried to drop them from way up high into the jar. (Hurray for Pinterest and people with fun ideas to share.)

Tyler thought they were great and laughed and giggled, only occasionally putting them in his mouth for a little chew if I could keep Jack from stealing all of them.

He's so cute.

I finally lured Jack away from stealing his brother's pom-poms by letting him make cheerio towers on a piece of spaghetti stuck in some playdoh. So fun. (Yay Pinterest. Thank you for helping me entertain my children.)

Disneyland!

2011-12-20T18:55:00.000-07:00

A week and a half ago we had the fabulous opportunity to go to Disneyland. We had the BEST time. Jack thought it was pure magic and now asks everyday if we can go back. Ty was happy as long as he had a hoodie string to chew on. And the cute blond in the photos (besides me :) is our niece Ally who came with us and helped entertain the boys. If her parents would let us, we just might keep her. Jack was devastated when he learned she had to go home. So. much. fun.

Catching up

2011-11-15T22:26:00.001-07:00

I'm so behind on blogging...and everything else. How can these two angel faces keep me so busy?

A few weeks ago we invited some friends over and we painted pumpkin jars. That was fun.

Then we went to the Red Barn in Santaquin for the IHH party and we got to take a hay ride out to the pumkin field.

Jack dragged us everywhere until he found the "perfect pumpkin."

We had a Halloween Party at my sister's house where we played "pin the face on the monster..."

And wore our costumes...

And bobbed for apples

Here's Doctor Jack on Halloween night getting ready to trick or treat.

And my cute Bumblebee Tyler

Here's Jack about 30 seconds after he got home from trick or treating. He loved trick or treating once we met up with some of his friends, and he got so much candy that he thankfully forgot about by the next day so I picked out the stuff I like and kept a few tootsie rolls since I know he likes them, and I threw the rest of it away.

Last week we went to Discovery Gateway Children's Museum.

That's a few of the highlights from the past few weeks. Now we're just counting down until Disneyland!

I will go, I will do

2011-11-07T14:57:00.002-07:00

Superheroes and Witches

2011-10-13T14:44:00.003-06:00

On Tuesday we met up with some of our Heart buddies at Gardner Village to look at the witches. We had the boys dress as superheroes, since that's what they are.

My sweet boys

Even Bumblebee Tyler got in on the action.

Our Heart Heroes
Jack, HLHS - Teagan, HLHS - Thatcher, TOF - Gator, HLHS

Ty decided he likes older women, and she sure liked him.

Utah State Fair

2011-09-15T22:01:00.001-06:00

On Wednesday we had the opportunity to go to the Utah State Fair with HopeKids. We invited his cousins to come play with us and had a blast! We got wristbands tht let us go on the rides for a few hours and Jack thought that was fantastic. We were so busy riding and having fun that I didn't even pull out my camera, but trust me, there were lots of smiles.

There was a crazy guy who dressed up his geese in crazy costumes and he let Jack his one a drink of Mountain Dew.

We walked into the cow barn about 1 minute after a cow had given birth. That was kind of amazing.

We saw some huge pumpkins.

...and some fluffy bunnies. (Jack thought it needed a snuggle.)

As much fun as he had on the rides and seeing animals, he spent much of his time playing in the dirt and taking off his shoes. We went through a lot of wipes and hand sanitizer.

They had a great hands on farm experience,

And we even caught a glimpse of the prophet.

Such a fun day. Too bad I didn't pull out my camera more often.

Sedated Echo

2011-09-12T15:50:00.000-06:00

This morning Jack had a sedated echo at PCMC. We had to be there at 7:15 a.m. so it was an early morning for all of us, but since he couldn't eat anything before his echo it was nice to not have to deny him his morning milk for too terribly long. He was not a big fan of the IV, but I couldn't blame him since I think they really hurt too. But the IV team gave him a stuffed ghost and that helped immensely. He's snuggling with it now. Once he got some meds in his IV he was all smiles and punch drunk. Pretty funny to watch. He was zoned out for a while, but woke up fairly quickly after he was done so we got out of there in good time.

We met with Dr. Puchalski and he said everything on his echo looked great. His function was really good and his valve is not leaking at all. Such awesome news. His sats through the proceedure were in the mid 80's, so it's hard to complain about that. They did notice something around his aortic arch which is causing some gradient from his upper to lower body, but it's not major. If they need to they should be able to fix it in the cath lab in the future. Dr. P said that we can move forward right now with his Fontan prep and schedule a cath followed by surgery, but he also feels very comfortable waiting 6 more months. Since Tyler is still so small I think we're going to aim for that. He's not loving the bottle at the moment and no Grandma wants to be left with a cranky hungry 3 month old, no matter how cute he is.

We feel very blessed by this news. Jack really had us worried for a while there by how tired he was, but I guess it was a weird bug that had no other symptoms other than to wipe him out half the summer. Then he got a weird bug that had no symptoms other that the occasional puke. Now he's all better and is perky and silly and drives us insane half the time with his 3 year old antics.

Days like today are kind of long and yucky but are good to remind me how precious my boys are, even when they are into trouble. So to celebrate tonight we are going to eat pizza and let Jack guzzle all the milk he wants and watch Little Einsteins and Bubble Guppies to his hearts content. Good times.

Tummy trouble

2011-08-17T14:21:00.000-06:00

Sigh...It's been an exciting morning. Jack woke up crying at 6:00 a.m. so I let him come snuggle with me in bed. A few minutes later he started coughing and wham! He puked all over me, him and my bed. Awesome. So I threw him in the tub, stripped the sheets, got him out of the tub and let him watch a show while I jumped in the shower to clean off the vomit. When I got out he said he felt good, then threw up again all over my bed, so we did it all again.

Normally I would just assume stomach bug, but he threw up Sunday (in nursery) and about a week ago in the middle of the night as well. Every time he throws up and doesn't feel well for a little bit but then perks up and is fine. No other symptoms. Then a Heart Mom mentioned her daughter was throwing up too and cardiology was concerned as vomiting can be a sign of heart failure. (Plus his other HLHS buddy Kylie got sick a few days ago and is now in the hospital really struggling.) Of course that got me worried so we've spent the day at the dr. First stop was the pediatrician. He's lost some weight, but otherwise looks pretty good. After consulting with cardiology they decided we should go get a chest xray just in case. Thank goodness for the Riverton PCMC office. Jack was a trooper and we were in and out in 30 min. The pediatrician called a little while ago and said everything looked okay, so we're back to assuming it's just a weird stomach bug.

Sweet Jack has definitely been slowing down lately. His cousins run circles around him, and at his bday party he sat in the shade while his friends played the games I had prepared. We called cardiology a few weeks ago about it and we have a sedated echo scheduled for September 12 to see what's going on. My guess is that we are getting closer to needing the Fontan. As a result I pulled him out of preschool for next year just in case. He would have loved it but some days he just doesn't have the energy. We'll have more answers in the next few weeks, but as of today we at least know he's not in heart failure so I don't mind a little vomit. Now if he would just learn how to aim for the bowl.

Happy Birthday Jack!

2011-08-05T08:00:00.003-06:00

Three years ago this little boy and his very special heart changed our lives. How grateful we are for him. He is smart, charming, gentle, sassy, funny, polite, stubborn, creative, snuggly, naughty, loving, and hilarious.

We love you so much Jack!

Keeping busy

2011-07-31T22:30:00.000-06:00

We're still just bummin' and enjoying our summer. A few weeks ago Hardy and I took the boys to Red Butte Garden. Jack ran every where and Tyler slept through it all.

We went with Jack's best buddy Caroline to the Aquarium.

Last weekend we went with some friends to Park City. Here is Jack, his buddy Paisley and their dads going down the Alpine Slide. We haven't done that in years. The kids LOVED it.

And this little cutie usually just sleeps through all the fun as I drag him all over the place, then wakes up ready to eat. Both boys just had their Wellness check ups and both are 50% for their weight and doing great.

We've been playing so hard one day Jack just fell asleep at the dinner table mid-meal. Actually, he really is slowing down these days. I've been noticing a difference in his stamina lately so tonight I checked his sats and they were 74. That's a big drop from 82 where he was in May. It's to be expected and is his body's way of telling us the Fontan (his next surgery) is getting closer, but I hate to even think about it.

Brotherly Love

2011-06-20T15:46:00.000-06:00

Tyler is a little over 3 weeks old and already these boys are best buds. Jack's favorite thing in the world is to lay with his brother on his playmat which Jack has decided is a spaceship. He gets so excited any time Tyler looks at him or holds his hand, and he's constantly asking to snuggle with him. He's so gentle with him, and only once has he thrown a fit and refused to let me hold Tyler. I've been really proud of how well Jack has adjusted to not being the center of the universe.

This past weekend we took the boys to the South Jordan Country Fest. We let Jack go on a few rides at the carnival and he was in heaven. I can't wait to take him to Lagoon in a few weeks when he can go on the rides as many times as he wants.

So, so sweet. I love these boys.

Big Brother

2011-05-26T22:32:00.000-06:00

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.

Jack's Crazy Kitchen

2011-05-23T16:32:00.000-06:00

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.

My Little Letter Lover

2011-05-04T16:43:00.000-06:00

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.

Cardiology Appointment

2011-05-03T16:31:00.000-06:00

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

The Zoo, Farm, and such

2011-04-11T21:38:00.001-06:00

Jack and I went to the zoo a few weeks ago when it was nice weather. He LOVED the train. I had to drag him off kicking and screaming. I promised him we could ride the train all he wanted when we go to Lagoon this summer. That should be fun.

Then last week we went to Wheeler Farm with my sister and her kids. Jack was frighteningly brave when it came to feeding hay to the horses, but thankfully they managed not to nibble off his fingers and he thought it was great.

He thought feeding ducks was almost as cool as "shooting hoops" and had to throw every piece over the fence.

But his favorite part was splashing in all the puddles where the previous days snow was melting off the roofs. He was so tired and filthy by the time we got home but it was a good day.

Currently Jack is obsessed with his ABC's. He's always liked them and been good at them, but for the past week or so I swear he sings one version or another of the ABC song from sun up to sun down. My mom got him a new ABC show and he screams and cries to watch it all day long. Actually, the screaming and crying happens every time it ends and I refuse to put it on again. I found him a foam alphabet puzzle at the dollar store that I pulled out the other day and now and he has to carry them all over the house identifying objects that start with each letter. I spend my days hunting for missing letters he's dropped in one room or another. Crazy kid.

Just 7 short weeks until Jack's a big brother. I'm getting very excited and a little nervous at the prospect of a normal, healthy child. I can barely keep up with the half-heart one I've got let alone throw another one in the mix. It will be interesting to see the contrast. I can hardly even fathom coming home from the hospital after only a few days and without a great big set of instructions on medications, feedings, etc. but it's a challenge I'm willing to tackle.

Where did March go?

2011-03-30T22:01:00.000-06:00

I feel like March came and went really fast this year and I forgot to document any of it, and with my pregnancy brain I just can't rememeber anything at all these days let alone think to take out my camera.

If I remember correctly, the first week in March Hardy's basketball team was in the State Tournament so that kept us busy. Then Jack and I went to Idaho to visit my sister Erin the following week while both Hardy and my brither-in-law were at the MWC basketball tournament. Jack loved hanging out with his cousin's and had a blast until Saturday morning when he woke up with a firey hot fever and sick as can be. Thankfully he did pretty well on the drive home despite his misery and got better within a few days, but they were a long few days.

Last weekend Hardy and I dropped Jack off at my mom's a took a fabulous, toddler free vacation. Grandma claims Jack was an angel the whole time which is such a relief because he was awful as soon as he saw me on Sunday. I guess payback is fair. On Monday he kept asking to "go see the fish" so Tuesday morning I loaded him up and we went to the Living Planet Aquarium (see photo above - it's about the only picture I took of him this month).  Jack spent most of the time pushing his stroller around rather than looking and interacting with the fish so when we got to the end and I told him it was time to go he was very upset because he had yet to "see the fish." Maybe next time we will leave the sroller in the car to encourage a little more observation. Today he "helped" me put my new glider together for the baby's room rather than take a nap. That was awesome. :(

We are very much looking forward to the spring weather that is headed our way so I think we're going to the zoo on Friday with friends. I bet we're not the only ones with that idea, so DON'T meet us there. ;)  I have no doubt it will be a zoo in more ways than one.

Urine Town

2011-02-24T11:08:00.000-07:00

Can I just say how much I hate potty training? We made great progress from Monday to Tuesday, but then he woke up sick on Wednesday and felt too yucky for me to push much potty time so today we seem to be back to square one. Blah. I'm hoping by next week at this time we will all be happy campers, but currently while we are in the trenches it sure seems tedious. Anyone have any magic tips?

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T08:31:00.002-07:00

January Adventures

2011-02-05T20:47:00.000-07:00

We've been trying to keep busy this month, counting down the days until spring arrives and we can spend our days in the sunshine. Any day we can find that it isn't totally freezing and snowy Jack insists that we go outside and swing until his lips turn blue, which usually doesn't take very long, but he sure enjoys it while it lasts.

We went to Hogel Zoo...

...and got to see the animals up very close and personal. It's amazing how much more active the animals all are when it's cold vs the summertime.

That's one friendly gorilla

A week or two ago Jack, Hardy and I went to Discovery Gateway Children's Museum together. It was our first time going there and it was so much fun. We will definitely go again. So many fun things to do.

Last week we went to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point with several of Jack's buddies in the neighborhood. They had a marvelous time together.

Jack wanted to climb the fence to "ride" the shark. I said "no."

Jenna, Dominic, Jack and Caroline

We have been very brave this winter and I haven't quarantined Jack at all. I take him everywhere including the store, nursery, and even McDonald's playland a few times, none of which I have done the past 2 years. He has weathered this winter marvelously so far with only a small cold and 1 ear infection. Granted, it's not over yet, and I'm still very careful if someone nearby starts coughing up a lung, and we sanitize as soon as we are through with anything, but it is so nice to not feel like we're living in a bubble and just be normal. Plus, I figure if he's going to start school next year he better build up some immunity.

Yes, I did just say he's going to be starting school next year. Preschool. Can my baby really be old enough for that? Crazy. I've debated for a while since he is right on the cut off as he turns 3 in August and we've always talked about holding him back so he's the biggest in his grade rather than the smallest, but I've just decided that I think he is going to love it, so why not? He already knows all his letters, the sounds they make, words that start with each letter, and he can pick out the first letter of most words you say to him. He counts everything and finds shapes everywhere we go. A whole class where he can play with letters and numbers will be heaven for him. My neighbor also suggested that he will probably really love having something for himself after the baby arrives and I will enjoy having a few hours each week with just the baby. A very compelling argument. Yep, we're all signed up and doing preschool next year. I can't wait.

Fetal Echo for Brother

2011-02-02T18:08:00.000-07:00

Today we had a Fetal Echo for Jack's little brother at the Primary's Children's Extension in Riverton. I can't think of a better way to celebrate Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Month than to get the wonderful news we got, that everything looks in this kid looks NORMAL! This little boy was kicking back the whole time as he got pushed and prodded which made the echo tech smile, but he was in perfect position for them to get beautiful pictures. They saw healthy valves, a good strong aortic arch, and four functioning chambers. Dr. Su did give us the disclaimer that the heart is really only the size of a thumbnail at the moment so it's kind of hard to see everything, but as far as he could see it all looks great.

We haven't exactly been nervous since it just doesn't do any good to stress out and worry until there is something to worry about, but I do feel much better going forward to not have heart concerns in the back of my mind. I look forward to everything hopefully being very different and normal when giving birth to this baby. Only 17 weeks to go!

Hurray for Healthy Hearts!

Christmas Catch up

2011-01-12T16:32:00.000-07:00

I admit it. I did a terrible job of taking pictures over Christmas. I got Jack's whole Christmas morning on the video camera, and I may have to post him signing "Jingle Bells" because he is so good at it and signs it often...still. Despite the lack of photo evidence, we did in fact have a great Christmas. It was great seeing lots of family and friends and spending time together as a family.

We went to see the lights at temple square in the rain. Jack had fun with cousins Breydon and Bethany and with Grandpa.

He got a great new U of U table which he is thoroghly enjoying and sues every day. He got some paints, new socks, a memory game, sticker book, fish puzzle, comforter and sheets for his new big boy bed he'll be getting soon, and a stuffed ant eater. Yes, an ant eater. He loves it. He found it at Babysteals when I went in to pick something up and wouldn't put it down. For $6, how could I resist? He saw it Christmas morning, squealed with delight and said "He's so cute!" He calls it an elephant. It especailly weird because he doesn't really like any other stuffed animals. Just his ant eater. I'll have to get a picture one of these days.

After Christmas we spent lots of time driving to and from Davis County where all our families live. It was great seeing everyone, but I must admit that I am so glad it's January and life is finally back to normal. If it would just warm up above 20 degrees, I'd be so happy.

Cardiology Check up

2010-12-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

The day after we got back from Disneyland we had Jack's semi-annual cardiology check up. Dr Puchalski gave him and A+ and said to come back in another 6 months. We thought we might start discussing the Fontan, but his sats were 83 (after he stopped crying long enough to take a breath) and Dr P said that as long as they are that high we can wait. He expects his sats will start to drop within the next few pounds that he gains so surgery could still potentially be late next summer, but as long as he keeps doing well they think we might even be able to push it off another year. Wouldn't that be nice! He is now 28 lbs, so that is kind of the magic minimum weight they want kids to be before they do the Fontan, but bigger is better and it looks like we've got room and time to grow.

It's also really nice to have more time before we start planning his surgery because this summer is going to be a busy one for us as we are expecting baby #2 at the beginning of June. If you ask Jack, he insists that he wants a baby sister. Not sure why, but we'll find out for sure in a couple of weeks. We're a little nervous but hopeful that things will be less stressful with this pregnancy than the last. And for those who have seen me recently and thought "Boy, she's overeating this holiday season," the answer is yes, yes I am, but thankfully I also have another good reason for my getting-fatter-by-the-day tummy.

Disneyland 2010

2010-12-09T16:17:00.000-07:00

Last week we had the wonderful opportunity to go to Disneyland. We had the best time ever. I can't think of a single thing that would have made it any better. Jack still asks every morning "We go to Disneyland?"

Thanks to recommendations from some of our heart friends we got Jack's stroller designated as a wheelchair. That was fantastic. For some of the rides it let us go in the exit and skip the germ filled lines. For others it allowed us to take his stroller into the line with us so we didn't have to carry him the whole time. The lines were really short on Wednesday and Thursday anyway, but this really made it possible for us to do everything we could have wanted while there. He was still exhausted at the end of the day, but I know he made it a lot longer than he would have without it.

I wasn't sure what Jack would think about all the characters, but after meeting Pluto on our way into the park he was sold. Every time we would meet a new character he would ask me with a grin on his face, "I give them a big hug and Mommy take a picture?" It was magic.

His favorite rides were #1) Pirates of the Caribbean. He would hold on for dear life down the hills, then ask to do it again. And he enjoyed searching for Captain Jack. I think we went about 7 times. #2) The Ferris Wheel with the swinging gondolas. He spotted the big Mickey Mouse ferris wheel at California Adventure and I agreed to take him on it, but I got in the wrong line and didn't notice until we got to the front that we were all set for a swinging car. I was a little nervous to take him up but he LOVED it. The whole way around he would giggle with joy and say "Let's roll!" #3) He also liked Small World and as we were going through the tunnels and the tune changed to "Jingle Bells" his face lit up and he exclaimed "I know that song!" So cute. #4) And Dumbo was a big hit. He was on it with Hardy and kept saying "We flying! This is so fun!"

On Saturday Jack's cousins came down to spend the day with us. That made it lots of fun. Thanks for the fun day Matt, Gwen, Paige and Seth! We will miss you at Christmas.

The first night there we went to World of Color. The next night we watched the fireworks and ejoyed the fake snow they do on the way out. Both shows were great, but on the weekend all the shows moved to 9:00 which was way too late for Jack. It worked out though because we stayed at the California Grand Hotel and we could watch the fireworks from our balcony. He and I would snuggle in our pajamas, wrap up in a blanket and enjoy the show before bed. A perfect way to end an evening.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Super Letters

2010-11-08T14:36:00.000-07:00

I know I'm biased, but I just think he's so darn smart. He loves to point out letters whenever we are in stores or restaurants, but my favorite is when he sees letters in his food. Mostly he finds the letter L when he takes a bite out of a sandwich, or if he eats from the edge it sometimes makes a P, but 2 bites makes an M. Such a clever boy.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-03T08:21:00.000-06:00

This year for Halloween Jack was a tiger. We had lots of parties and opportunities to wear his costume, but all I have is a million photos of the side of his head as he would run by, so this grumpy tiger picture is the best I've got. It was warm, comfortable, and easy to put on so it was a perfect costume.

I did take Jack out trick-or-treating around the block on Saturday night with his best buddy Caroline. She embraced the holiday and would run from door to door knocking and grabbing handfuls of candy. Jack kept making me carry him between houses then would stare at people and couldn't have cared less about the candy. Throw in some cold rain and the Utah football game playing at home and we didn't stay out too long. Thankfully he's young enough that passing out candy is as much fun if not more so than collecting it.

Sunday night we had a Halloween party at my parents house with his cousins. The kids got to trick or treat from door to door in the house and got fun trinkets. Then my brother in law came up with a bunch of Minute to Win It games that were fun. It was a good Halloween.

Boys will be Boys

2010-10-05T15:28:00.000-06:00

Last night after dinner we were hanging out in the kitchen. Hardy had something in his mouth and spit in the sink. Well, Jack thought that was great and with a big grin on his face immediately hocked a loogey on my floor. "No Jack! Daddy spit in the sink. We don't spit on the floor," I told him as shocked as could be. He promptly ran over to daddy, asked to be picked up and continued spitting into the sink for the next few minutes. Hardy and I could hardly contain our laughter. Seriously? Such a boy.

Some of my favorite things he says lately are, "Come out, come out where you are" when he's looking for me.

If I make a suggestion that he likes he happily exclaims, "Thassa good 'dea. Less do it!" (That's a good idea. Let's do it)

He surprised me a few weeks ago when he started counting by tens. Uh, where'd he learn that?

He also loves to sing really fast. "Baa, Baa black sheep" and Barney's "I love you" are his favorite in super speed mode. He also loves to sing the original Mickey Mouse song. So cute. I'm trying to catch it on video but he keeps wanting to watch before he gets done.

We are going to Disneyland in December and I know he is going to LOVE it. Last year was good. This year he is totally going to get it and have so much fun. I'm already giddy with excitement.

The Utah State Fair

2010-09-23T16:03:00.000-06:00

Last week Jack and I went to the Utah State Fair with HopeKids. We had the best time. Who knew the fair could be so fun? He kept asking to ride the cows and goats and thought they were really fun to pet (note the huge grin on his face below). We also got ride passes and boy did we have fun. I wasn't sure if he would after his so-so performance at Lagoon. Well, he's a big boy now because he had a blast. He loved the fun house with the crazy fast slide at the end. He loved spinning in these weird dragons (kind of like tilt-a-whirl), and his favorite was a speedy little car ride that he kept asking to go on but I thought he would hate. Once we got on he refused to get off. We even ran into our buddy Daxton. We run into them everywhere. :) And thanks grandma for coming and taking photos.

I also had to throw in these cute pics of Jack and his girlfriend Caroline dancing at our Stake party the other night. They were SO adorable.

More Catching up - September

2010-09-13T12:49:00.006-06:00

A few more pictures to get all caught up. At the end of August we went with a group of friends to the zoo. We always have fun there. The kids of course loved the big water ball near the entrance. Owen kept trying to climb in and got all wet and Jack kept trying to drink it. Gross!

For Labor Day Weekend we went to my parents cabin in Heber. Jack loves to feed the squirrels, but he gets a little too friendly when they get close and starts to wave and say "Hi squirrel!" Not the best technique, but super cute. He was also a big help moving wood inside for the winter and was fascinated watching grandpa chop wood. But the highlight as always was the four-wheeling. We always go slow and careful with Jack on board. In these photos he was just playing on the machine hence the lack of a helmet. On Monday morning we decided to go for a ride before lunch and were going to leave shortly after. Well, Jack fell asleep on the ride so we decided to just go home. I ever so gently transferred him into his carseat once we were all loaded and his head jerked up and he exclaimed "four wheeder?" Well, sweetheart. You missed it. My other favorite story was at night after Jack was fast asleep. Hardy and I were just climbing into bed and chatting when someone passed a little gas. Jack started giggling so hard in his sleep. It was hilarious. I guess farts are inherently funny, even in your sleep.

This past Saturday was the Intermountain Healing Hearts Walk. We loved meeting new people and seeing our Heart friends. Jack and Teagan were too focused on their apples at the end of the walk to pose, but they at least looked up when Paul came over to say hello.

We left the Heart Walk just a little early to head up to the U for the big pre-game tailgate. Is this a proud papa or what? I love these boys so much. Jack is well trained and will give a big "Go Utes!" on cue or sometimes just randomly throughout the day.

August Catch up

2010-09-12T11:20:00.004-06:00

Hardy's work Lagoon Day happened to fall on Jack's birthday this year so we had a fun way to celebrate his special day. He likes the boats and playing in the water, HATED the airplanes and the cars, made us take him on the Merry-Go-Round about 50 times, then discovered the joys of Bulgy the Whale and we just watched him go on that the rest of the night. It was a really fun day.

The next day Jack and I went with HopeKids to the Utah Museum of Natural History where he got to dig for bones and look at bugs. The highlight was the dinosaur show where they have the kids help recreate the time period when the dinosaur lived by making noise and dressing up as bugs and plants, then they brought out a very real looking dinosaur that walked around. This thing walked right past us and Jack jumped off my lap and ran toward it excitedly asking, "I ride it?" Hmm...I don't think the poor person in the costume would like that very much, but he did get to pet it and had a great time at the museum.

To celebrate the end of summer we hosted a little 'Homemade Ice Cream" party at our house and invited a bunch of our neighbors. I made my favorite Key Lime Pie Ice cream, my friend Shiloh made a fruit filled sherbet, and Heidi made a big batch of vanilla. We asked everyone else to bring toppings. It was lots of fun and we may make it a tradition.

Jack and his buddy Jenna loved their ice cream cones.

Happy Birthday Jack!!!!

2010-08-05T10:12:00.006-06:00

Can my baby really be 2 years old? I can't believe it. He is such a big boy now. He is a total chatter box and makes me laugh everday with the funny things he comes up with. We had a little birthday party last night with his cousins and he had a blast. Today we are going to Lagoon with Hardy's work so it's a fun way to celebrate his birthday.

A few things about Jack at age 2:

- His favorite songs are "I'm a Hammer" sung by Pat the Hammer on his Handy Manny CD, "I am a Child of God" followed closely by "Three little speckled frogs."

- He loves books and lately when I can't find him it's usually because he's in his room reading stories to himself. I love to eavesdrop and hear what he comes up with. He also loves to help me cook which is always interesting.

- He is very polite and always says "Nank You!" He also likes to tell me to be"Careful Mama" when I'm cooking or doing anything he deems dangerous. His dad has also taught him to say "Outstanding" when he does something especially great.

- He LOVES babies, especially his cousin Kate. Anytime he sees a baby he gets a dreamy look in his eyes and gives a loving "Mmmm" while either giving the poor baby a hug or pretending to give a hug if he's too far away. It is quite sweet.

- He is still my little snuggle bug. My favorite moments are when he has on his jammies, gets his blanket, climbs up on my lap, wraps my arms around him and says "So nice" as he snuggles into me. Yes son, it is so nice.

- He thinks his dad is the funniest person ever and loves to grab his hand and drag him downstairs or outside to play. No one gets him chuckling the way his daddy does. They are best buds.

- He is really into sports right now. He had basketball cupcakes for his bday party and we got him his own basketball hoop for his birthday. He could hardly wait for us to get it out of the box before he started shooting hoops. He also got a little golf club set from his friends and the first word out of his mouth this morning while daddy was still singing Happy birthday was "Outside!" because he couldn't wait to play with his clubs. I barely talked him inot putting clothes on before we went out. Look at this face. He is in heaven.

He is also a huge fan of his new lawnmower that he got from Aunt Heather. We were at the zoo on Tuesday and he kept asking to go home and play with the lawnmower.

- His best buddies are his cousins Josh and Rachel, next door neighbor Caroline, friends Boston and Avery, and his girlfriends Paisley and Jenna. He loves to go to nursery and play with all the kids on Sunday.

We are so grateful for this sweet little boy and the joy he brings into our lives.

Happy Birthday Jackson!

A Summer Bug

2010-07-19T11:39:00.002-06:00

Unfortunately this is not a fun colorful, fuzzy bug that my little boy has picked up. It is a little coughing, snot producing, feverish kid of bug.

Last Wednesday Jack woke up with a fever of 101. Not too serious and easily controled with Tylenol or Motrin, but it lasted for 3 days. All he wanted to do all week was sit on my lap and watch Caillou over and over and over again. So painful for Mommy (watching Caillou, not the snuggling - that I enjoyed). By Saturday morning he finally broke his 3 day fast with a big waffle and a request to watch Mickey Mouse so I thought he had turned the corner and was on the mend, but come Sunday he stopped eating again and began coughing and requesting Caillou, so that's where we are again today. Throughout the week he's been drinking lots of milk and will eat some watermelon and occasionally a bite or two of food so he's not totally starving or dehydrated or I would have called the doctor, but he's definitely lost some junk in his trunk, poor kid. I'm dying to take him out swimming or to the park or something to get us out of the house to enjoy the summer and interact with people, but alas, here we sit - me, Jack, and dreadful Caillou.

I am grateful that he is doing fine though, especially considering how many of our heart buddies are in the hospital right now. (We're thinking about you McKay, Teagan G, and Mariska!) Hopefully just a few more days of rest and he'll be able to shake this darn bug.

Yellowstone 2010

2010-07-06T11:41:00.009-06:00

As if the previous two weeks of cousin fun weren't enough, this past week we went to Yellowstone with Hardy's entire family and Jack got to enjoy lots of time with his adoring fan club on the other side of the family. He's the youngest on this side by about 6 years so all his cousin's think he's pretty entertaining, and he adores them. He'd wake up each morning and ask to go see the "big kids."

Poor Alli and Abbey were forced to play ring-around-the-rosie about 50 times standing in the hallway outside the bathroom at a pizza place one night (obviosuly Jack chose the location, not the girls). After they would "all fall down" Jack would jump up, grab their hand and say enthusiastically "AGAIN!" What troopers they were.

We drove to Mammoth Springs one morning.

Another day we went to the Upper and Lower Falls, and of course we visited Old Faithful. As it was going off Jack declared "It's big! It's hot!" Excellent observations, my man.

Jack really loved seeing all the elk and buffalo and on the ride home any time he would see cows he would shout "Buffalo!"

Not surprisingly, Jack's favorite spot was of course the Firehole River swimming area. He found himself a nice little alcove where he sat and threw rocks for a long time.

On Wednesday we had a special reunion and birthday celebration for Grandma Strong. Amazingly all 93 of her decendants were able to make it to the reunion. How grateful we are to her for making this trip possible.

Towards the end of the party they gave everyone a marshmallow gun for a massive marshmallow war. Jack didn't quite get the hang of it but enjoyed eating his bag of ammo.

Jack did amazingly well in Yellowstone. We weren't quite sure how he'd react to the high elevation, but other than needing two naps a day in stead of one and a little blueness in the pool, he was pretty normal. He did get quite cranky as we drove near Yellowstone Lake, but when I looked at the map and it said the elevation was around 8400 ft we decided that he got a pass on his crankiness.

What a fun trip full of great memories!

A Cousin Visit

2010-07-06T11:33:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago my sister Erin and Jack's cousins Jake and Alex came to stay with us for a couple of days. It was so fun to have them come visit.

We took them to the splash park one day, and Jack and Alex had the best time driving Erin's minivan together in their matching shirts.

The next day we took all the kids to my sister Emily's house and let the kids play in the gentle stream that runs though their back yard. Jack thought it was great and i have the feeling we will be back often this summer.

Cardiology Visit

2010-06-22T14:37:00.002-06:00

Jack had a cardiology appointment yesterday. He screamed the entire time and kept saying "all done" and "home," well, at least until he finally fell asleep exhausted in my arms while we were talking with Dr. Puchalski. Then we were finally able to get a good blood pressure reading and Dr. P could liten to his heart without trying to hear past the wailing.

His xray and EKG looked great and even with all the screaming his sats were in the low 80's so we don't have to go back for 6 more months. Dr. P still thinks we're on track to have his Fontan sometime next summer or fall.

Keeping busy

2010-06-22T14:08:00.010-06:00

Hardy has been out of town a lot for both play and business the past three weeks so Jack and I have been working hard to stay busy to avoid going crazy.

We went to Lagoon with my parents and sister and her family on Stake Lagoon Day so we got in free to walk around then paid a few dollars to go on a few rides. Jack LOVED the boats and could have happily stayed there the entire night.

Then last week my sister Heather called and said her husband was leaving town for a few weeks and that it was too bad Jack and I couldn't come to visit while we were both husbandless. Well, we found some skymiles and Jack and I flew to Seattle for a few days. It was so fun to see my sister and Jack loved playing with his 2 year old twin cousins, Breydon and Bethany (and 10 year old Brienna too :)

One morning we went to a rocky beach where the three little ones perfected their rock throwing skills and got to watch a real train go by.

They had so much fun together at bath time playing in the water. Unfortunately for the twins though, Jack discovered their bath tub basketball hoop and it was all over. While the kids splashed and played, Jack shot hoops (as you can see in the background, he's just like his father, very focused). He did not think it was very funny when they put other toys in the hoop or tried to cover it. No, he insisted that he only use the orange ball and made shot after shot. He was in heaven and requested a bath morning and night while we were there.

Group hug.

We had so much fun, but it's good to be home. I'm not a huge fan of flying with a 1 year old all by myself.

This past Saturday Jack and I went with his buddy Caroline to the South Jordan parade and festival. Here they are catching candy on the sideline.

Then Jack conned my friend Tari into holding him up so he could shoot some hoops for a while. Can you tell he's into basketball these days? She was his new best friend.

He also got a pony ride and a few other rides at the carnival.

He even got to go to the fireworks that night after he surprised us and decided he needed a 5:00 nap. It was great. We let him sleep for a while then got him up, went to the show, came home and he went right back to bed and slept through the night. What a good boy.

Memorial Weekend

2010-06-01T13:11:00.016-06:00

This Memorial Weekend Jack and I went to my parents cabin in Heber City while Hardy was off coaching at a basketball tournament in Reno. My sister was there with her 5 kids so Jack was in heaven following all his cousins around, learning lots of new tricks.

We had a marshmallow gun fight, which Jack wasn't too sure about until he discovered we were shooting marshmallows. He spent the rest of the time filling his mouth with ammo and asking for more.

He was in absolute awe when he discovered that Grandpa is really Handy Manny in disguise and Jack got to "help" build a new stair railing.

Jack loved feeding the "skirrels" (squirrels) and "mitmunks" (chipmunks).

We went on lots of rides on the four wheelers. Jack loved it and would refuse to get off once the ride was over, staying to push the buttons and pretend he was driving.

What began as dipping his fingers in a little puddle...

Soon turned into standing in a deeper puddle...

Which became sitting in a big, wet, deep puddle.

He was so wet we had to strip him down so his pants could dry before we rode the four wheelers home. Look at those cute chicken legs. :)

We came home from the cabin on Monday and Jack was very excited about all the flags that were out for the holiday.

Monday evening Jack and I went over to our neighborhood BBQ where Jack had a grand time with his buddies.

Lately

2010-05-17T21:31:00.011-06:00

Just a few things we've been up to lately.

- We went sliding at the park with daddy.
- Jack's found plenty of trouble to get into.

- We went to the Dinosaur Museum where we played with crazy blocks,

and splashed in the dirt and water.

- We went to the Renaissance Festival thanks to HopeKids and got to watch real live jousting.

Jack was inspired and found a stick to poke at things the rest of our visit.

He LOVED the guinea pigs.

He did NOT love Captain Jack Sparrow (unlike his cousin Josh).

- And today we went to the Children's Garden at Thanksgiving Point where we got to hang out in a bear cave

and play in a caterpiller (among other things).

We also had the IHH Family picnic last Saturday (I totally forgot to take a single picture while I was there, but luckily I asked some of the young women who volunteered to help us to take some pics so hopefully I'll get some from them.) I was in charge so I've been stressing out about it all week (saying lots of prayers about the weather, people showing up and having enough food), but it was a great success. It is such a wonderful support group for families with Heart kids and is a great reminder that we're not alone in this battle. I met an awesome 8 year old girl with HLHS who is so smart and cute and completly normal and a total inspiration to me about what I hope the future holds for Jack. We had about 150+ people this year and it was lots of fun. Thanks to everyone who came.

Twenty!

2010-05-14T21:30:00.002-06:00

kind of...

We still have a few gaps to fill, but what a smart boy!

Tulip Festival

2010-04-29T14:03:00.002-06:00

This week Jack and I went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point on Monday (with friends) and Tuesday (with family).

The highlights were:
- Feeding the fish (I should have brought more quarters. He could have stayed for hours)
- Digging in the dirt, usually not disturbing the flowers...too much
- Splashing in the water

He played so hard that he fell asleep both days before we even got to the car to go home. I didn't get very many great photos because if you could look close you would see a HUGE bruise on his forehead from running head first into the wall right before we left the first day, hence the baseball cap. Plus he's really into running these days, and definitely not in to posing so I have lots of pics of the back of his baseball cap streaking by. At least I got a few cute ones.

Heart Moms

2010-04-25T22:02:00.004-06:00

Saturday afternoon I had the priveledge of attending the Intermountain Healing Hearts "Heart Mom Luncheon" at Gardner Village. It was such a great event. How wonderful to sit in a room filled with amazing women who have endured and continue to endure so much. I was reunited with friends who I met in the hospital as we sat by the sides of our sick children. These women who inspired me and helped me stay strong on sugery days and answered my frantic questions, who showed me the ropes in the pump room, who cheered the day we were sent home, and who taught me to trust in the Lord's plan. I embraced friends whose little ones have lost their battle with CHD and who inspire me with their faith and courage and example as they have found peace and happiness after such great loss. I made new friendships with women who I have only known through their blogs as I have followed and prayed for their children and feel like they are close friends despite this being our first meeting. And I met a new friend who is expecting a little boy with HLHS this summer which brought back so many memories of two summers ago and how scared we were of what the future would bring.

We were blessed to hear from Margaret Cardall, Paul Cardall's mother, a woman I have wished to meet and speak with ever since I started following Paul's story. What a pioneer she was as a heart mom. Her "Heart Mom" battle for her child may have begun a few year earlier than most of the rest of us in attendance, but her fear and love and strength to take things one day at a time were the same as every women there. When she told how she panicked the first time Paul slept through the night, worried that he had passed away, the whole room nodded in complete understanding. But her faith and hope carried her though each incident. Then Paul inspired us with his beautiful music, looking healthy and full of life with his new heart. It was great.

I feel so blessed to be part of such an amazing sisterhood of Heart Moms. Thank you IHH for bringing us all together.

Farm Country

2010-04-20T07:28:00.003-06:00

Last night we went to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point for Family Home Evening. Oh my word. Jack was in heaven. He was really excited to find a sheep and enjoyed looking at the animals. Then the real fun happened when he got to go on a pony ride. I thought he might get nervous but instead he was in HEAVEN. He would gently pat the horses head held on real tight. Good thing we got two tickets with our admission so he could go again. He was so sad when it was time to go. The good news is that we got a membership so we can go again as much as we want.

He also really dug the sucker he got when we made his bunny ears and got his face painted.

Nursery, Blocks, and a Sunny Day

2010-04-19T15:14:00.005-06:00

With all this fabulous sunshine and RSV creeping lower and lower on the charts, we are finally out of quarantine and took Jack to church for the first time since November (Hardy and I have been trading off each week since then). He wasn't too sure about nursery at first and I was sure that I would be stuck there the whole time, but soon his buddy Jenna arrived, and eventually there were about 11 kids running all over the place playing with toys and he completely forgot I was even there, so I snuck out. It was so nice to go to Relief Society again! I even missed attending Sunday School. And Jack had a great time without me. One of the women in nursery said he would occasionally notice I was gone and be sad for a minute, but was easily distracted and then was fine. When I saw him after class he ran up to me with a big smile talking excitedly about "bubbles" and his shirt was all wet so I could tell he had a good time. Hurray!

After church went had dinner at my parents, then went to visit Hardy's dad where Jack and grandpa built fabulous towers out of blocks. The first tower he built all by himself was great big and he was so proud, but once it got too tall it tipped over. The look of shock and utter horror on his face was priceless. I so wish I would have had my camera. He was devastated the way only a 1 year old can be. That's when grandpa jumped in to help and soon he was proudly building and knocking them all over. He had such fun.

Today we took advantage of the perfect weather and went to the park for a picnic with our friends.

Jack's shorts kept falling off which made me laugh. They are even size 12 months. Poor kid needs to get some junk in his trunk.

Here's Jack and his girlfriends at the park. We LOVE spring!

Easter

2010-04-06T12:13:00.006-06:00

We had a wonderful Easter. Jack got a morning Easter Egg hunt in the basement at home, but by evening the snow had melted so we got to do an outdoor hunt at Grandma's house.

He was too busy eating chocolate to give me any smiles for the camera. Good thing the Easter Bunny was smart at our house and only put a few M&M's in each egg or he would have been totally sugared up. He kept asking for "More chocate pleeeeease!"

In addition to a few treats and an illustrated Book of Mormon Stories book, Jack got these manly sunglasses. He thinks he's pretty darn cool.

All that plus a great LDS General Conference where we were spiritually fed and uplifted. And to top it off, Miracle Mason got a new heart on Sunday which added extra thought and meaning as we contemplated the true meaning of Easter, Christ's resurrection and what that means to his donors family. It was a good weekend.

A Trip for Two

2010-03-26T13:27:00.004-06:00

Could I be any worse at blogging lately? It's not that we aren't doing anything, I'm just not in the mood to document it. Very unlike me. Maybe if it would stop snowing I'd get a little more excited to pull out my camera.

Last weekend Hardy and I took out first vacation without Jack and went to Las Vegas. Hardy kept asking me (before we left) if I was going to cry when we left the little fella. I wondered that myself until we dropped him off at Grandma's and I sprinteed to the car and was totally fine the rest of the trip. It was so nice to go out at night and eat my dinner all by myself and while it was still warm. We stayed out late each night and slept in each morning. Hardy golfed, I went to the spa, and we held hands everywhere we went. We saw "Blue Man Group" and "Jersey Boys" and I read a good long book. We went on the roller coaster in Primm and got $20.00 Lucky jeans at the outlets. It was great on all accounts.

The only bad part is that Jack is now getting back at me for leaving and will not leave my side. He wails if I walk into another room and close the door. He's even been waking up at night and refuses to go back to sleep unless he's snuggled happily between Hardy and I. And while I enjoy snuggling with my little man, it's really hard to sleep, plus his diaper leaked the other night and he totally wet our bed so I spent all day yesterday laundering bedding. Stinker.

But I must admit that I did miss him and I'm glad to be home. Vegas is a weird town. Fun for a few days, but not reality. I'll take my quiet little life in South Jordan with Jack and Hardy over the bling of Vegas any day.

Idaho Falls Fun

2010-03-17T12:58:00.008-06:00

Lat weekend Hardy was away so my mom, Jack and I drove to Idaho Falls to visit my sister Erin. We hardly did anything at all but had a fabulous time.

Jack and his cousin Alex (who is just a couple of months older) had the best time together.

Bathing is so much fun with buddies.

Funny story on the way to Idaho. About halfway there Jack started grunting and pushing and I knew we'd need a stop in the near future to change his diaper. We stopped in Malad, but when I changed him he was clean. So again, just outside of Pocatello he starts pushing and grunting and working very hard, but nothing is happening. Soon he's crying and clearly suffering so I pulled over in Pocatello and got him out of the car. He laid his tear stained cheeks on my shoulder and said "stuck!" Oh dear, yes it is. Darn poop. I let him walk around in the parking lot for a few minutes and finally he managed to get "unstuck" and after a change we were on our way. Kind of gross, I know, but I thought it was prety funny.

A New "Do" and a "Choo Choo"

2010-03-05T20:37:00.006-07:00

My baby turned 19 months old today. He's hardly even a baby anymore. Nope. Just a crazy, funny, naughty little boy. Here are just a few things he's up to lately:

1. His vocabulary has exploded in the last month or two. He can give you nearly every animal sound and is starting to name all the animals now too. When he sits down to work on a project he says "all wight" (all right), and when you're leaving he gives a big wave, blows kisses and says "See ya!" He loves to go "side" (outside) and go down the "wee" (the slide). He knows that beverages come in three forms: milk, water, and "Coke." He loves to play with the "mote" (remote) and the "phone" and climb on "shairs" (chairs). He will repeat just about anything except Grandma and Grandpa. He absolutely refuses even though I keep trying to tell him those are the most important people to suck up to. He cracks me up every day with some new word he's picked up. I just love getting a tiny glimpse into his silly little head.

2. His favorite shows are "Manny" (Handy Manny) and "Hot dog" (Mickey Mouse Club House) and each morning as soon as he wakes up he emphatically requests a "show" meaning one of these two.

3. He LOVES Elmo, Cookie Monster and Zoe from his Sesame Street books. For Valentine's Day I got him a new sippy cup with these 3 characters on it and he could hardly drink he was so excited.

4. His favorite activities are turning light switches on and off, prank calling people from my cell phone, plugging in and unplugging anything in an outlet, and banging on the computer. As a result he is usually banned from from almost every room in the house at some point during the day.

5. He is an excellent helper and loves to pull out the broom and sweep the kitchen or help dig in the garden. I even had to buy him his own gardening tools so he would stop stealing mine. He also loves to stand on the stool in the kictchen and watch/help me cook.

Yesterday Jack his first real haircut. He hated it and sobbed the whole time. Poor Erica (my next door neighbor) cut as fast as she could and offered to stop because he was so upset, but I told her to carry on and eventually got him to help me with the animal sounds for Old McDonald, giving a "woof, woof" here through his tears.

But the end result turned out very handsome. I think he looks so grown up.

Then today, fabulous Erica who cut Jack's hair called and said they were cleaning out their basement of things her boys are no longer using and would we like a train table for Jack? Umm...Heck ya! He was in heaven when he got up from his nap.

Then he found the screwdriver I used to tighten up a few screws and had even more fun pretending he was Handy Manny!

What a good day.

Multi-tasking

2010-02-23T09:42:00.002-07:00

Sucking on his binky while brushing his teeth. Good skills Jack.

My Gym Fitness

2010-02-16T20:05:00.003-07:00

This afternoon Jack and I had the fun opportunity to go to My Gym in Sandy with Hopekids, an amazing group we are part of that supports families of kids with chronic and life threatening conditions. They do fun activities all the time but until now Jack has really been too young to enjoy most of their events. Not today. This was perfect and he was in heaven!

He jumped, ran, crawled, walked up, walked down, balanced, shot some hoops, made a darling little girl grin from ear to ear (two if you include me), explored, danced, tossed, created, and gave himself a big smooch every time he passed the mirror. It was great fun.

Does this kid think he's cool or what? Thanks Hopekids.

CHD Awareness Week

2010-02-11T14:03:00.003-07:00

This is Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week!

I think last year for CHD week I shared lots of scary facts and figures about CHD's and how it is the #1 birth defect in America with not enough funding, etc. That's all still true, but this year my CHD message is to encourage everyone to love like you only have half a heart. You see, when you only have half a heart (or love someone with only half a heart) you know that time is precious and the people around you are incredibly important. You pray often, and never miss an opportunity to say "I love you." You are better able to mourn with those that mourn, and celebrate seemingly small, miraculous victories. Your patience is increased and forgiveness comes more easily. And all because you have been blessed with a little insight from heaven that life is fleeting and special and not to be taken for granted.

Jack and his little half heart have blessed my life in so many ways and taught me so many lessons I can no longer count (though Jack would probably tell you "six").

Today was Jack's 18 month check up (and RSV shots). His head is still huge (95%), he still tall (32.5 inches, 75%) and he's finally starting to put on some pounds (23 lbs 6 oz, 20% - up from 15% where he's hovered the past few visits). He was very, very sad, but also very brave and earned a sucked for the ride home. Good job big guy.

Six

2010-02-09T20:06:00.002-07:00

Brilliant! He gets it right every time. Now we just need to work on one through five.

You know you're from Utah...

2010-02-04T13:23:00.004-07:00

...When 40 degree weather makes you want to head to the zoo...

...and break out the swing set again.

Oh Spring. We know you are getting closer but we really wish you would hurry a little faster.

A Happy Heart

2010-01-25T20:44:00.002-07:00

Jack's had his cardiology check up this morning. Because of his RSV shots every 28 days mixed in with all his flu shots and boosters and other pricks lately, he was not too happy once he discovered we were at a doctors office even though I tried to reassure him there would be no "owies." He screamed in terror and clung to either Hardy or I as they tried to get his measurements and blood pressure. The nurse finally had to leave the room so we could calm him down and we got his leg pressures, but as soon as we pushed the button for his arm blood pressure he started screaming and we couldn't get a good read.

Dr. Puchalski said Jack is doing fabulously and we should feel very lucky, which we do. He is huge (23 lbs) for a heart kid and sounds great. His sats were around 80 while we were there, but that was also when he was screaming his head off and not breathing very well. I think he's normally closer to 83. Dr. P said 80 is pretty good though and not to worry. We don't have to go back for 6 more months.

We did inquire about when he thinks Jack might have his next surgery, the Fontan. Based on how well Jack is growing, he anticipates within 18 months, so probably next summer before he turns 3. That could easily change but at least gives us an idea of what to prepare for.

We are huge fans of the new Riverton Primary Children's Outpatient Clinic. We were practically the only ones there. No sick kids every where. No waiting. Jack didn't even get to play with any of the cool waiting room toys. Dr. P stayed and chatted since he wasn't too busy. And it's like 5 minutes from our house. LOVE IT! As a bonus we even ran into our heart buddy Gracie Gourley in the lobby area. She is so darling. Fun seeing you Deanna.

Jack is growing and learning so much lately. Each day he picks up on something new. Today he and I went to Barnes and Noble which he thinks is the most fun thing ever. He ran around the kid section excitedly finding "Emo" (Elmo) books. Plus they have chairs and benches just his size that he likes to climb all over. And every kid in the store was his new best friend. He's also fascinated with shoes and loves to wear them all the time. And he's not picky if they are his own shoes or mine as seen pictured above. His other big thing lately is that he likes to request a "show" as he hands us the remote. He even says "peas" (please) so sweetly that it's hard to say no, even if I am sick of Handy Manny for the day.

What a sweetheart. We just love him more every day.

One Year Ago Today

2010-01-19T07:55:00.002-07:00

A year ago Jack had his second open heart surgery, the Glenn. We got to the hospital early that morning to spend time with Jack and so Dr. Kaza could answer a few last minute questions. A few hours later he looked like this.

How far we have come since then.

"No, no Jack"

2010-01-17T09:45:00.006-07:00

I know. I'm behind. We just have nothing too exciting to report lately from the Hardy household.

Jack had his RSV shot on Thursday, then had to go get his flu and H1N1 booster shots on Saturday, so we really hate the doctors office right now. But he's a trooper and forgives quickly. Especially when I bring a few M&M's to help ease the pain. We also went to "Rhyme Time" for kids 2 and under at our local library after his RSV shot and he thought that was pretty fun, even if he spent most of the time running around rather than participating. Oh well. We'll work on that.

Waiting patiently in the doctor's office.

He's also very busy and in to trouble all of the time these days. Lately he has heard it so often that he has started telling me "No, no Jack" before he does something naughty - like eat playdoh, or stick things in an outlet, or climb in the dishwasher for example.

Jack has his next cardiology visit next week and we are excited to be able to go to the new Riverton Hospital with its Primary Children's Outpatient Center which is just minutes from our home rather than have to trek up to PCMC. He seems to be doing really well so I'm not too worried.

Oh, before I forget, I better share his latest trick that I was quite proud of. Jack loves to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. The other day Hardy sang part of the theme song to Jack and he jumped down, ran into his room and grabbed the stuffed Mickey Mouse we got him at Disneyland. I didn't know he had made that connection between the two, but I guess he did. Before that he was completely indifferent to the toy, but now he LOVES it and gives Mickey hugs and kisses. What a smart boy.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T20:22:00.010-07:00

Jack had a marvelous Christmas. He loved unwrapping his presents and spending lots of time with family and friends. After a nice but fairly quiet Christmas Day, we went with my family to my parents cabin in Heber for the weekend. 21 people, 1 bathroom, 800 sq feet. Hardy was terrified, but somehow it manages to work out and we all had a delightful time. Even Hardy.

Jack got to try out his new sled that he got for Christmas and had a pretty good time in the snow.

His lips turned rather blue the first few hours we were up there, but after that he acclimated to the elevation and seemed to do just fine. He was just one of the gang with all his crazy cousins running around and learned a few new tricks (like how to turn the knob to try to open a door). It was lots of fun.

Back at home, he and his cousins tried out his new car ball pit. He loves throwing the balls all over the place and pretending to drive the car...

...and thought Rachel's hair did some pretty funny tricks while she was playing.

On Monday we went with Hardy's family to Hollywood Connection, a place with rides, games, mini golf, roller skating, laser tag, etc. Jack was hypnotized by the blinking lights on the carosel so I decided to take him on a ride. Oh boy, did he have fun. Every time we passed daddy he would wave and call out to him with a big cheesy grin. I think we rode it 10 times. There was also a little bus ride that goes up and around and he thought he was pretty darn cool on that thing. It gave my stomach butterflies so I started to worry about what it might do to his little heart, but he LOVED it...so I took him again. We'll have to see what Dr. P says about that at our next cardiology visit.

Jack is just the sweetest, happiest, funniest little guy. I know I am biased, but I so adore him. He makes me laugh all day long.

- He talks all the time. It's usually just gibberish, but he is very serious about it and definitely knows exactly what he's saying. He thinks everything is a cell phone and holds it up to his ears and says "okay" a lot while chatting.

- He currently calls me by my first name. Yes, my 1 year old refers to me as Aimee. How he picked that up, I have no idea. It's kind of funny, but I would sure prefer a simple "mommy."

- He loves to do the actions to the song "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree" and requests it by saying "Popcorn" and doing the popping action with his hands. He also loves to do the Choo Choo song with actions and gets so excited that sometimes he forgets to wait until the very end to blow the whistle and waves his arms and says "woo woo" through much of the 2nd verse.

- He is in a major book phase and loves the new book I made him for Christmas. It's a church quiet book(which he skips), but I made the 2nd half a family ABC book with lots of photos of Jack and all his relatives. He loves to point at all the familiar faces and gets very excited.

- He gives the biggest, cheesiest smiles all the time. Especially when he know he's done something a little naughty, like tonight when dad caught him pulling half a roll of toilet paper into the toilet and was dripping wet. He thought he was pretty clever and was clearly worried about the repurcusions from his strict father. (ha! - see below)

I just can't believe how much he grows and learns every day. I feel ever so grateful for the miracle that he is and we pray for a another happy, healthy, wonderful year.

Go Utes!

2009-12-23T17:19:00.000-07:00

I wanted to try to get a nice smiling picture to post of Jack in his cute Utah attire...

...but I couldn't catch him.

Good luck tonight Utes!

This and That

2009-12-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

Jack is very busy these days playing with everything he shouldn't. We are looking forward to Christmas and the new boost of toys he wil be getting to hopefully divert his attention away from the hair dryer which he drags around the house like other kids might carry a favorite blanket. Seriously?

So far he has done really well with the Christmas tree and only tried to throw my ornaments in the garbage can a few times. He's also been a hit at all the family Christmas parties as he's quite silly and charming once he warms to the crowd.

He loves to read stories these days. I think I read "Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb" about 15 times in a row last week. Because he is loving books I took him to the library, but he got a little over excited tossing books, using his loud voice, and banging on the computer keyboard and the librarian got mad at us so we had to leave. We'll have to work on our library etiquette and try again.

He's even made it to a couple of his dad's basketball games this year. As long as he's got plenty of space to roam about during the game he does okay and will even watch and cheer for a while. The Titans are having a great year so far and we hope they keep it up.

We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!

Let it snow...

2009-12-10T13:34:00.001-07:00

Brrr..it's cold outside. It sure makes me grateful for a house and a furnace, and good snow clothes for when we do want to go out.

Jack recently discovered one of the highlights of the holiday season is playing with Grandpa's train.

It's amazing how one little vacation can throw your whole schedule off. I've been confused as to what day it is all week. I think we're finally back in the swing of things though.

Disneyland!!!

2009-12-05T20:24:00.000-07:00

This week we have had the wonderful opportunity to go to Disneyland. This place really is magical and we have had a fabulous time.

Highlight 1: We had breakfast and dinner one day with lots of fun characters. Jack wasn't too sure what to think about them, but he would usually offer up a high five.

The Opposite of a Highlight: The first night Jack refused to go to sleep in the port-a-crib so I let him snuggle with me. That was great until around 2:30AM when he fell out and landed on the floor! He didn't get hurt but he was very upset at the harsh awakening and took quite a while to calm him down.

Highlight: After eating dinner with some friends at Goofy's Kitchen we discovered this old Autopia car outside in the lobby. Jack thought he was in heaven pretending to steer that car. He laughed and played, and then screamed when I tried to take him out because his little buddy Jace was complaining that Jack stunk and needed a diaper change. Poor Jace.

Now what ride do you think was Jack's favorite? It's a Small World? Winnie the Pooh? Nope. He liked those, but his favorite was...

The Haunted Mansion, of course. He danced to the band in the grave yard and clapped with glee when he saw himself and a ghost riding in the car together. Go figure.

Hightlight: Aunt Gwen came down and played with us all day Friday. It was great for Hardy and I to be able to go on some rides together while Jack and Aunt Gwen walked around. Thanks Gwen!

Jack was a real trooper the whole time. He did great on the flight there, and by the second day he got the hang of taking naps in his stroller.

He thought the parade was pretty cool.

His other favorite part of Disneyland was Pirates Island (formerly Tom Sawyer's Island). You would think the caves would be dark and spooky, but not to Jack. He walked so fast his little legs could hardly keep up and he giggled with the pure thrill of an adventure as we entered into the caves.

Jack's cousins Seth and Paige and Uncle Matt came down on Saturday to hang out with us so Jack loved having his cousins to play with.

He even got to meet Santa in the hotel lobby.

So much fun. We can't wait to do it again in a few years.

Ode to my husband

2009-11-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

You know you’ve married a good man when he offers (without even being asked) to skip the last home Utah football game of the season and take your sick child to the doctor (even though it made both of them cry) and stay home with him so you don’t have to cancel your plans.

Yep, that Hardy, he’s a keeper.

Jack is finally feeling better today. When I called the doctor Saturday to see if miserable fevers were a normal reaction to the Synegis shot she said "no" and had us bring him in so they could test for influenza. It came back negative, so did the strep test. So, we've just been waiting it out and by the amount of trouble he's been getting into this morning, I can confidently say that I think he's much better.

Limp Noodle

2009-11-20T22:40:00.000-07:00

Jack got his first Synegis shot of the season yesterday. He was terrified and cried more than he ever had when he got it, but eventually he bounced back to his usual chipper self. Well, I think today he has had a bad reaction to the shot. He has had a fever all day and been completely lethargic. Poor little guy. He finally figures out how to walk, then we give him a shot that make him so sick he can hardly stand. What a mean mom I am.

Finally!

2009-11-18T21:42:00.000-07:00

Look who's walking!

Yesterday afternoon he finally decided to let go and now he's strutting across the room like it's no big deal. Of course he refuses to do it on demand so pretend you're not watching the video or he might sit down.

His other big tricks for the week are that he can now tell you what a lion, snake and bear say.

Good milestone's Jack!

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!

2009-11-12T20:35:00.000-07:00

Yep, in just three weeks Jack will have his first trip to Disneyland, and can I tell you, I get more excited every day! Hardy won a trip from work so we are going to be livin' it up in the Magic Kingdom. I just can't wait to see Jack's face as he takes it all in. It will definitely be a different trip trying to work around nap times and sticking to the little rides, but Aunt Gwen is coming down to join us for a day or two, and I've talked with 3 other people I know who are going to be there with their families that same week, so we should be able to get in a good Space Mountain ride or two. SO EXCITED!

I talked with Jack's pediatrician today at his well baby check about our trip. I'm a little freaked out about the plane ride but she said to keep him hydrated and spray out his nose a lot and that should help to keep him healthy on our trip. She's also going to try to get him his RSV shot before we go which would make me feel a ton better since it seems to be a good immune boost. I also finally got him his H1N1 vaccine today so that makes me feel a heck of a lot better as well.

Jack did great at his check up today. Dr. M couldn't believe how good he looks. He's 75% for height, 10% for weight, and his huge head is still in the 95%. I also had her check his sats and he was hovering around 87%. We like that. I actually just bought a little finger pulse-ox that arrived in the mail today so we could check his sats while we are out of town and just have a little piece of mind. It will be interested to see what his sats do at sea level and in the airplane.

And to answer your question Hilary, no, he still isn't walking. Stinker. Despite all my best efforts, he just won't let go.

Enjoying the Sunny Autumn days

2009-11-08T21:36:00.000-07:00

Trick or Treat!

2009-11-02T12:16:00.000-07:00

Jack had a fabulous Halloween. He dressed as a very handsome Superman. We trick-or-treated at daddy's work on Friday, and to a few houses in our neighborhood on Saturday, but he prefered the kids coming to our house. Every time the doorbell rang he would speed over to the door and giggle and shake with anticipation. He was pretty funny.

He then spent Sunday like every other kid out there, looking thorugh his bag of candy and trying to get me to let him eat way too much sugar.

Suggestions?

2009-10-26T18:59:00.000-06:00

So, Jack is still not walking. Yes, I know all kids do things at there own pace, and yes, I know he's been through a lot so it's not a big deal that he's not walking. The problem is that he's got all the skills (he does great only holding onto one hand or pushing various objects around the house), he just won't let go and it's making us both frustrated. I think he would really like the trouble he can get into once he puts it all together and starts walking.

Anyone have any suggestions as to how to get him to finally figure it all out so I can stop spending my days tripping over the laundry basket, garbage can, tall toys, and anything else he pushes around the house so he can walk to where he wants to go? Or do I just need to be patient?

Family Pics

2009-10-20T18:23:00.000-06:00

We finally went and got some family portraits done last week. They turned out so cute. Here are just a few for your viewing pleasure.

2009-10-20T18:00:00.000-06:00

Our cute photos were done by Carrie Butler.

Playin' and the Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-14T11:19:00.000-06:00

Jack loves driving around in his car. He's really good at reverse, still working on going forward, but he's pretty good at keeping his feet up so I can push him around.
Here's where I discovered him the other day, just hanging out with a witch. Notice the laundry basket in the corner - still his preferred choice of transportation.

Looking pretty cute in his scary Halloween shirt.

Last night we went to the Red Barn in Santaquin with IHH and got to take a hay ride out to a pumpkin patch where we picked out a fabulous pumpkin. Jack thought it was pretty fun and we loved seeing our heart buddies and making new friends.

14 months old

2009-10-06T08:29:00.000-06:00

Jack is now 14 months old. Here are some of the wonderful things he is up to these days:

1. He can stand all by himself…until he realizes that he’s doing it and then he immediately sits down because he doesn’t think he can.
2. He loves to walk around the house all day long pushing the laundry basket until it gets stuck against a wall (which is every 30 seconds) and then he screams and throws a fit, beaconing me to come get it unstuck.
3. I have no idea what he likes to eat these days. It completely changes from day to day, but Mac ‘n Cheese and teddy grahams are usually a “yes” when offered.
4. He can sign “all done,” “more,” and “milk.” And he gives a great “high five.”
5. He can say mama, hi, more, yes, and no and a variety of silly sounds.
6. He’s very good at going up the stairs, but rather unreliable going down them as he likes to stop and play along the way so we still have to watch carefully.
7. He sleeps pretty well at night, but gets up every morning between 5:00 and 6:00 and insists on coming in to snuggle with mom and dad, which we only allow because it usually buys us another hour or so of sleep.
8. He’s still a total mama’s boy and sometimes not even daddy will do, which is kind of sweet to be loved so much, but gets really old when I need to get anything accomplished that can’t be done with a 1 year old attached to my leg. He adores his father though and loves to watch him mow the lawn.
9. He likes music and will wave his hands to the beat with a big silly grin. He also applauds when I sing the ABC song to him while changing his bum since that is the only way to get him to hold still.

10. And now he's wailing under the computer so I don't have time to think about anything else. Good thing he's a cutie.

An update

2009-09-28T10:21:00.000-06:00

I realized that I haven't posted for a while. Well, that because we've been playin'. A few weeks ago we took Jack to a High School football game. He made it until about half time before he was just totally done. It will be interesting to see how he handles the basketball games this winter. (For those who don't know or don't recall, Hardy is a basketball coach).

Then we took a fun trip to Idaho to visit my sister while Hardy was out of town. Jack just loved playing with his cousins. He thinks they are terribly clever and hilarious.

He and cousin Alex loved to play on the stairs which was good because Jack seemed to believe Alex when he showed him that you have to go down backwards. He thinks I'm just kidding when I tell him that.

While in town we stopped in to visit Jack's heart buddy Grant. It was so fun visit with you Alli!

On Friday we went to the zoo to see all the baby animals. We loved the little giraffe, and that baby elephant is so adorable.

Last night was Grandpa's birthday so we had a party.

Happy Birthday Grandpa! We love you!

Jack loved the cake, but then spent the night throwing up, so I don't know if it just had too many oreos in it or if he caught another bug. I swear he has been sick ever since he turned 1. If this is indicative of what winter is going to be like, I am really going to have to quarantine. I just can't bear to think about it quite yet.

Feeling better and getting out

2009-09-14T10:50:00.000-06:00

A round of antibiotics later and Jack is feeling much better. He's now back to his usual busy, helpful self.

He helped dad make pancakes for breakfast by emptying the contents of all the drawers he could reach.
Then we went to the Utah State Fair. Jack loved the goats and cows, not so much the Bear Show.

And on Saturday Jack and I went to the Intermountain Healing Hearts Walk. There were probably 500 people in attendance. It was wonderful. We got to see Heart buddies (below are Teagan, Gracie and Daxton and their moms) and get to know some new families.

At the Walk they had a beautiful Angel ceremony and butterfly release recognizing those children who have lost their battles with CHDs. I was so sad this morning to read that another one of our Heart friends joined that group last night. Sweet Cali was just over a week old and after a valiant fight and numerous proceedures, she returned to the loving arms of our Heavenly Father. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Orrock family.

Jack's Trick

2009-09-14T10:40:00.000-06:00

I think it's hilarious when Jack does this trick, and so does he. I was so happy I finally caught it on tape.

He's getting much more vocal these days and will answer questions with "Ya" or "Nah." In the last few days he's even finally started signing "all done" and "more." Communication is such a nice thing when trying to figure out what in the world a 1 year old wants.

Bumps, coughs and misery

2009-09-09T18:12:00.000-06:00

Poor Jack. This past weekend he and I went to Swiss Days in Midway then up to my parents cabin for the night. On Saturday he came down with a fever which lasted through Monday. His fever finally broke and he seemed to be perking up yesterday, then last night he got glassey eyes and miserable again. He woke up this morning with a rash and has hardly eaten in days, so I finally broke down and called the pediatrician.

Diagnosis? Double ear infection which is why he is miserable, a bad reaction to his MMR vaccination which caused the measel's like rash and high fevers, and possible pertussis (or whooping cough) causing the terrible coughing fits he's been having at night for the past few weeks. Poor little fella. The result - we had a very excited Labor Day weekend that mostly involved me holding a listless Jack since he refuses to go to anyone else right now. And all the fun things I had planned to do for Hardy's birthday today? Umm, ya, instead of going out for a nice dinner tonight like we had planned, Hardy and I met at the pediatricians office, ordered pizza, and he's now off filling Jack's perscription. Happy Birthday honey :)

A Sand Box

2009-09-03T21:58:00.000-06:00

Jack is getting so busy these days. Earlier this week he discovered that he could walk around the house by himself by pushing a laundry basket. The problem is that they don't turn very well so he's contantly getting stuck and throws a fit until I get him unstuck. Let's just say it's not my favorite game. He's got a car and a walker too that he pushes everywhere, but nothing is quite as fun as holding onto mommy.

His new thing is that at 7 AM (yes, I'm still in my pj's) he likes to grab my fingers, lead me to the back door and pound on it until I take him outside where he heads straight for his swing and then to dig in the dirt. I'm not a big fan of him digging in my flower gardens and picking my flowers, so a couple of days ago we decided to make him a sandbox. We already had a spot ready under the playhouse, we just needed some sand.

Well, look who thinks he's pretty hot stuff sitting in his very own sand box?

It is now a regular activity, but I sometimes suspect that he likes to dig primarily because he knows that I will then let him play in the water after to hose him off. Every day he gets a little busier, and every day I am grateful.

1 Year Well Baby Check

2009-08-28T10:04:00.000-06:00

Jack was finally able to have his 1 year Well Baby check this week. He's in the 15% for weight and 80% for height. Umm, ya, looking at Hardy and I you would totally guess that we would have a tall and skinny baby. ;) He's also got a huge noggin - in the 85th percent Thankfully it doesn't look huge because it matches his height. I've also read that a lot of HLHS kids get really big heads after their Glen surgery because of the change in blood pressure to the top half of the body.

He's still cute as a button, but getting rather naughty. When did my sweet baby learn how to throw temper tantrums?

Last weekend we got to go play at Jack's heart buddy Teagan's house. Jack was a big fan of the gravel pit and dump trucks. It was so fun to be having fun and eating a bbq rather than meeting for dinner at the Rainbow Cafe at the hospital like we were doing last year at this time with their family.

IHH Heart Walk - Sept 12

2009-08-21T10:44:00.000-06:00

Walk for Healing Hearts

Saturday, September 12, 9:30 A.M.

Riverside Park, 4620 N. 300 W., Provo

Intermountain Healing Hearts is the local support group for families of children with heart defects. It has been an amazing source of help and strength to us during Jack's hospital stays and in between. This group cheers each child's victories and helps each other through the hard days, and we are so grateful for the lifelong friendships we have made.

The Heart Walk is an opportunity for this group to raise money and continue the work they do (including care packages for families stuck at the hopsital, flowers for new babies and funerals, Heart Camp, etc.)

If you would like to come join us for the walk, we would LOVE your company. The cost is $10 per person and you can register online (pre-registration deadline is Aug 26). Or, if you can't make it but want to help, you can make a donation on Jack's behalf through their website.

Cardiology

2009-08-20T19:34:00.000-06:00

Jack had a sedated echo this morning to check on the function of his heart. Thankfully they have lots of fun things to squeeze and play with to keep him entertained while we waited for the doctor.

Jack was pretty funny on the drugs they used to knock him out. He started giggling as the versed kicked in, then woozily chatted from time to time during the echo. I also took advantage of the situation and had the sedation nurse slip in some extra fluids through his IV since he hasn't been drinking much. That made me feel better.

Dr. Pulchaski said that he was "thrilled" with how great Jack's heart looks. The function is good, and the narrowing of the arotic arch they were worried about after his Glen seems to have corrected iteself and he's not worried about it any more. We don't have to go back for another 6 months!

We feel so blessed that Jack is doing so great and are grateful for the many loving prayers said on his behalf.

Splash Park Fun

2009-08-20T19:27:00.000-06:00

We celebrated Jack's return to health yesterday with a visit to the splash park in Herriman with his friends Boston, Avery and Stella and his cousins Josh and Rach. While the bigger kids ran and dodged the water, my little water baby crawled straight into the big ones.

Poor Thirsty Jack

2009-08-17T19:24:00.000-06:00

Jack was supposed to have his 1 year Well Baby check up today, but instead we used it as a sick visit. Dr. M said that he's got a virus she's seen a lot of lately.

His fever is mostly under control, and his runny nose has slowed, but I can't get him to drink anything. One of his symptoms is a very sore throat and as a result I have only been able to get him to take two bottles since Saturday afternoon, one Sunday morning and one this afternoon. He should be drinking at least 4 bottle s a day so that is not nearly
enough, but every time I fix him a bottle he just pushes it away and gets mad at me. He won't drink milk, water, juice, popsicles, or jello. I've even tried watermelon which he usually can't get enough of and he just sucks on it then spits it out. I've been very worried about dehydration, but the doctor said he didn't look dehydrated so hopefully she's right. On the plus side, I'm saving money on diapers since he hasn't had a wet one in days.

He's scheduled for a sedated echo on Thursday morning so I'm hoping for a speedy recovery so we don't have to reschedule it.

Darn it

2009-08-15T20:58:00.000-06:00

This weekend was the Intermountain Healing Hearts First Annual Heart Camp and we were SO excited about it. We drove up to Camp Wapiti Friday night and got to see a bunch of Jack's heart buddies who are all doing so awesome. We loved seeing so many friends who we met in the hospital and so many others who we know primarily through the internet. We had decided in advance that we would sleep at home that night and then drive back in the morning in time for the rest of the events so we put Jack in his jammies and drove home.

Around 1:00 a.m. Jack woke up crying so I went in to check on him. He was burning up. He had a temperature of 103. I stripped him down and put him in a cool tub and gave him some Tylenol. That brought it down to 101, but I eventually was only able to get him to sleep by taking him down to our freezing basement guest room, me curled up under the blankets, him on top in really thin summer pjs, radiating heat. Poor little guy. This morning he woke up and was back to his usual chipper self for a while, but as the day wore on and as the doses of Tylenol wore off he just is kind of miserable and stuffy.

So we missed the rest of Heart Camp, which made me so sad. But even worse then staying home with a sick kid was being stuck home feeling guilty that I had brought my sick kid to camp the night before, possibly spreading germs to other heart kids. To all the heart moms, I'M SO SORRY! I'm praying nobody else gets sick. Especailly Teagan who gave Jack a great big friendly hug. Ugh...I feel awful. And so does Jack.

Miracle Treat Day

2009-08-13T09:58:00.001-06:00

Did you know that today is Miracle Treat Day? Dairy Queen is donating the proceeds from every blizzard purchased today to the Childrens Miracle Network, who will then pass it on to Primary Children's Medical Center. So not only does that make the ice cream guilt free, but it's good for the soul too. I know where I'm headed for lunch today. We'll wave at you from the drive thru. :) (Thanks for spreading the word Charlie Cooper)

Two Dollar Tuesdays

2009-08-12T15:17:00.000-06:00

This month Thanksgiving Point has Two Dollar Tueday's, which means you can go to any venue for only $2. Much more affordable than the usual $10. So this week we went to the Dinosaur Museum. Apparently it wasn't a novel idea because the place was absolutely packed with kids of all ages. It was crazy, but we had a fabulous time. Then we came home and sanitized our hands and feet like crazy!

Birthday pics

2009-08-07T10:03:00.001-06:00

Jack had such a fun birthday. So many of his favorite people came to help celebrate. We had people wear red for his special little heart.

He had lots of good helpers opening his toys and didn't want to go to bed that night because he was having so much fun playing with everything.

He got so many fun things and absolutely loves them all, but so far his favorite seems to be the new cell phone I got him. Did he just turn 1 or 16? Seriously.

He was a big fan of his cake and the fact that we let him dig in to his messy little hearts content.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACKSON!

Happy Birthday Jack!

2009-08-05T17:05:00.000-06:00

It's been a crazy, wonderful, difficult, rewarding, fabulous year. We love you so much Jack and are so grateful that we get to celebrate this special day and year with you.

Look Out

2009-07-31T10:31:00.000-06:00

Jack is totally mobile now. Thankfully he figured it out the day after we moved. One minute he was a happy little lump on the floor. Now he can sit up, climb from sitting to standing, walk along the furniture, and do a pretty speedy little army crawl/sea lion leap down the hall. He's loving the freedom, and I'm glad he's got a little more space now to roam about.

Along with mobility comes a little mischief. Jack's new favorite game is "Don't Touch That!" It's hard to get too mad when he flashes that silly grin.

He also loves the new couch with the cup holders. He spends much of the day moving toys from one hole to the other.

As an added bonus, he also now has 2 tiny teeth which he loves to remind me are there by chewing regularly on my finger.

...'Til He's Blue in the Face

2009-07-22T20:04:00.000-06:00

Jack just LOVES the water. He could splash and splash until he's blue in the face, and that's excatly what he did.

I don't know if it was the higher elevation or just way too much fun, but one day we went swimming during the family reunion and after about 30 minutes of serious kicking and splashing my sister commented that Jack was looking rather blue. I looked down and his lips and arms were a nice shade of purple. He was not ready to be done and wanted to dive right back in the pool, but we took him inside and gave him a warm bath and a nap so he could recover. Eventually he pinked back up, but it was definitely a reality check. He's been doing so well that sometimes I forget my baby is anything but whole and perfect. Instead we were reminded that his body just has different limits then other kids and even though he shows the desire and potential to be the next Michael Phelps, that is just not in the cards.

Family Reunion Fun

2009-07-22T19:59:00.000-06:00

Finally, we're back online. It's amazing how dependant you become on the internet when you are used to having it. I've been going crazy not being able to look anything up. Seriously, how am I supposed to know when the onions in my new garden are ready to be picked if I can't google it? And phone numbers. You mean I have to use the actual phone book if I need to call someone. It's amazing we ever survived before the internet. ;D

Anyway...we continue to love the new house and each day we get a little bit closer to getting things the way we want them. Hardy has really impressed me with his zeal for the yard and is getting good at taking out big unwanted bushes. He is also now the proud owner of his very own tools rather than just borrowing mine. I love it.

We had a fun family reunion in Eden last week, hiking, swimming, going to the beach, and just spending time together. Between me and my sisters we have 5 kids 2 and under (plus a bunch of big kids) so it was crazy, but Jack loved it.

Cookies

2009-07-22T19:00:00.000-06:00

Three little neighbor boys brought this over with 3 chocolate chip cookies the day after we moved in. It made my day. How can we not feel welcome after that? Loved it.

2009-07-19T20:01:00.000-06:00

No, we haven't disappeared. We just moved and still don't have internet access. I'm crossing my fingers that we will get it all set up this week.

The move went fabulously and I LOVE the house and the neighborhood. Each evening I put Jack to sleep to the sound of kids playing in the streets and their parents chatting in their yards. I think we've had at least 8 people bring us plates of cookies to welcome and meet us, and the ward is just terrific. We are in heaven. I've even made zucchini bread with zucchini fresh from my new garden which they left fulled planted. So fun.

I'll update with photos and more info soon, but for now, know we are just a bunch of happy campers unloading boxes and settling into our wonderful new house.

Parade, Lagoon, and Family Fun

2009-07-07T11:30:00.000-06:00

We had a fabulous 4th of July. Jack loved the parade and had so much fun, until he fell asleep.

He LOVED playing with his cousins and wishes he still had his fan club around to cheer at at all his tricks.

Even his older cousins (this is Jeff) got in on the action singing Jack his favorite song - Choo Choo the Big Train.

Jack also took his first trip to Lagoon. He got to ride the train with mom and dad, and got to cruise around in his stroller with Grandma while mom and dad went on the big rides.

Jack also got his first tooth last week, and another one is just popping through today. Farewell to that cute, gummy grin, but those little stubby teeth are pretty darn cute.

Adoring Fans

2009-07-07T11:25:00.000-06:00

Uhh...do you think they like him?

Jack is so bored now that his fan club/cousins have all gone home. Mom is adoring, but not nearly as fun.

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-07T11:09:00.000-06:00

Water Baby

2009-07-01T09:17:00.000-06:00

We took Jack swimming for the first time yesterday, and oh what a treat it was. He splashed and splashed and played for the longest time. When we finally pulled him out he kept trying to dive right back in. I got him this cute little contraption to keep him safe and it worked perfectly in the kiddie pool. His toes could just reach the bottom so he wandered all over and had the best time. We may have to make this a weekly activity.

Hurray for summer!

IHH Picnic

2009-06-29T15:22:00.000-06:00

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

2009-06-22T21:39:00.000-06:00

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!

2009-06-22T21:36:00.000-06:00

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

2009-06-14T16:21:00.000-06:00

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

2009-06-04T19:27:00.000-06:00

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