An update

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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)