5.31.11 - Bye bye to BeeBee and Fun in the Sun!

We said good bye to the sacred binkie, or rather "Beebee," Sunday night.  I promised myself, and Dustin, that I would be weaning Liam off the pacifier once we got home from vacation and after his cardiologist appointment (for obvious reasons I wasn't even going to go there before then!).  So Sunday night was it.  We put Liam down to bed and immediately he started asking for it.  Finally, an hour later he finally fell asleep without it.  Talk about tugging the heart strings.  Liam tends to always get what he wants =), so you can imagine the guilt that set in when I stood firm with my decision....Whew.  He did fine without it today and tonight, so hopefully for us, it is that easy.  Anyways, I am glad it's over, bye bye beebee!! 

Since it's already almost in the 100's here and still not officially summer, we also splurged and got Liam a water table for outside.  He LOVES it!  He played with it for a good hour last night.  We shot a couple cute videos of him playing on it...

I'm excited about the rest of the week.  My mom is coming tomorrow to spend a couple days with us, which means I'm in for a good dose of wisdom, laughter and shopping at all the good thrift stores!  I actually decided to cancel Liam's therapies the rest of the week (only PT and ECI-DS)...I am contemplating taking him out of all services since he is doing so well.  Our ECI DS said she agreed and I asked her if we could have him evaluated again.  I guess well see what the "experts" say! 

I promise to get some travel posts up soon!  Been to busy to mess with editing pictures...will probably have to recruit the hubby for that job!

5.27.11 - Cardiology Update - 6 Months!

Cardiology appointment went perfect yesterday.  I could not have asked for a better appointment.  Liam was great, handled the EKG wonderfully and even started trying to dance a little during his echo (I kept asking who IS this child??).  He was SO good....I am so thankful he is not scared of doctor's yet....and I say yet because I'm just waiting for that shoe to drop!

Dr. Verma said Liam's heart has not changed since the last visit - YAY!  He explained his left pulmonary artery (ies ?) is still slightly narrowed, but said it has not changed.  The conduit is not showing any signs of stenosis or obstruction, and pressures were measuring the same as last visit 3 months ago.  SO, we go back in 6 MONTHS!  That will be the longest time period thus far between visits...He almost said we could possibly wait one year, but I'm glad he veered on the conservative side. 

I know this is a short post, but I am headed into work this morning.  Busy weekend ahead, so happy Friday everyone!

5.25.11 - WE are back from "busy"...home from our 1st family vacation!

Waiting for the train!

We arrived home Monday from a wonderful first family vacation.  We visited my family in New Jersey for a few days, then took a train down to Washington D.C. to visit Dustin's sister and brother-in-law.  It was an amazing trip, with lots of great memories and moments.  We also have over 1000 pictures to sort through that we took, so I'll probably be sharing all month long on our trip!  Liam did GREAT all across the board, he ate well, slept well and handled 3 plane rides, 1 train ride and multiple Metro and car rides amazingly well.  He is a wonderful little traveler.  We were even up against some not so great rainy weather all week!

I have some preview pictures below to share before I start delving into all the details of the trip later.  Liam has a cardiologist appointment tomorrow, so after that I will be much less stressed out and will be able to relax a bit and get some travel posts together =)  Please pray Liam's heart is UNCHANGED from our last visit...As you all probably know it was this same visit (4 months post-surgery) that showed the change and led us to another surgery last time, so I am a little nervous.  However, Liam has just been thriving lately, so I hope that is an indicator that his heart is doing just fine and that the conduit is holding up. 

5.19.11 - Busy = Picture Post!

We are busy BUSY this week, which I'll explain on another post, so I'm going to show off some fun pictures from Mother's Day morning spent with family!  I'll be back SOON!  Promise =)

Sweet boy!

We are running now!

Playing in the fountain...searchin for coins!

Playing bigger-than- life-size checkers

Checkmate!

5.13.11 - 5 months

5 months.  I believe this is the longest stretch since Liam's birth that we have not been to the ER or in the hospital.  

I've been contemplating a lot about the past year and all the ups and downs we have faced.  I guess because I know it's getting close to another "surgiversary".  This time last year I was making preparations for Liam's full repair surgery...Getting caught up on my work, paying off the round of hospital bills from his tube surgery and making hotel reservations for surgery night so we could be close by just in case...What a difference a year makes.  This year, we are making plans for our first family vacation, planning summer outings and taking daily walks to the park.  I guess I am feeling overwhelmed at the goodness and grace of God...of how great things are right at this moment in our lives.  Amazing things are happening even amidst our friends and family, and all I can really say is that, yes, we are truly blessed, deeply humbled and so grateful for this peace and quiet waters we are now experiencing.  

I never expected to SEE God answer so many prayers in my lifetime, nonetheless so many even within the past few months.  I truly stand in awe.  Not a day goes by that I don't stop and think about the Grace we have received...in more visible ways than ever expected.


"Praise the Lord, oh my soul 
And glory to the King 
Forever you are robed with majesty 
We come to You oh Lord 
And lay our praise at you feet
How great is Your love 
So much higher than the heavens 
With faithfulness that reaches the sky."

Lyrics by Mercy Me, "How Great is Your Love"

5.7.11 - Liam's new do..and other things!

Liam got his first official buzz cut today.  Not sure if I ever even posted his first official "hair cut"...was a couple months ago.  I have video, just need to find it!  Anyways, his hair was getting more "mullety" everyday, so we just decided to buzz it.  I must say I miss his long hair =(  But I know it will keep him cooler in the summer without all the hair.

Liam and his new favorite toy...his golf set!  Daddy has been teaching him early!

We decided to splurge this year and buy a season pass to our local waterpark.  Since the heat and Liam don't mix very well, I still wanted a way to be outside, but that would be a cool way to do that here in the hot Texas heat.  And since Liam is free until he turns 2 and I'm home now, I thought this would be the perfect summer to go.  Plus, it's literally about a quarter mile from the house, so no high gas prices for us!

We met with the dietitian yesterday and she was amazed at how well Liam is doing and VERY surprised that we had already weaned him off the tube feedings.  He weighed in at 24.2 lbs, which is great and means he hasn't lost any weight.  Our plan is to continue what we are doing and try to work in some more whole grain and fiber to his diet.  Liam has never liked grain or carbs too much, but she gave me some things to try.  Since we have cardiology at the end of the month (with weight check), the dietitian will return in two months.  And the feeding pump, well I'm happy to say it's been collecting dust in the corner of our office awaiting pick up....YAY!  I couldn't be happier to see that thing disappear!  We have been tremendously blessed that the feeding has gone so well.  Usually, this kind of thing takes awhile as kids adjust to normal eating/drinking cycles and struggle with aversions.  We are very fortunate and I thank God for this blessing.  Liam is truly a little miracle, in every way!

Well tonight's plan include a Mother's day dinner at one of my favorite hibachi restaurants!  Yummo!  Liam will be spending the night with his cousins.  Tomorrow will be church and then to my parents house for Mother's Day lunch....Days couldn't get any better than this!!  Happy Mother's Day to all my special mommas out there! 

Going golfing!

5.4.11 - A quick update

Our Internet has not been working at our house, so thanks to Mimi and Baba for lending me use of their computer so I can do a quick post!

Liam woke up this morning and looked dusty to me...I have not noticed his color in such a long time, but this morning he looked a little grey.  He was breathing fine, no wheezing and otherwise his usual self, so I kept an eye on it.  He had a tiny bit of congestion, so I bulb suctioned him and he seemed to get a little more color back, but still not his usual pinkness.  So I decided to call the pedi's office to schedule an appointment this morning just to be on the safe side...and then I called 20 minutes later and canceled because I had convinced myself I was crazy and he was fine (as he was more pink by then and eating and drinking very well).  Then after his nap, he woke up a little dusty again...strange, so I thought I'd better be safe than sorry and call the pedi's office again to see if I could bring him in.  Long story short, Liam is fine.  Pulse ox was 97, blood pressure was normal, no ear infection, no teething, no fever.  Whew.  I still feel a little silly for taking him, but given our track record, I guess I did the right thing. 

On another note, I am over at my parents house mainly to drop Liam off for the night and all day tomorrow.  I am going to my first dental cleaning appointment in over 2 years...Yes, I know.  Shame on me.  But then again our past two years have been a LITTLE busy and consumed with the obvious, so I guess I can give myself a break.  Although my teeth didn't.  I am having the "deep cleaning" "root scaling" and "planing" done tonight on all four "quadrants" of my mouth.  Yuck.  I HATE strongly dislike going to the dentist.  In fact, I went a couple weeks ago for jaw pain and I left needing a deep cleaning...Guess it's my time to start taking care of myself again.  UGH.  Really not looking forward to it...

That's about it for now.  I'll try to post more later if our Internet gets back up and running!  Happy Wednesday everyone!