My Gym Fitness

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

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

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

You know you're from Utah...

...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

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

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"

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!

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!

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

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...

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!!!

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.