Thankful, Blessed, Grateful

Time really needs to slow down. Evan's birthday party is two weeks away and I am just now mailing out invitations! But really, that's not unusual, I am such a procrastinator. I can't help it! I think deep down I get some kind of rush trying to get everything ready at the last minute. How ridiculous does that sound?! 

We've decided to throw Evan a Yo Gabba Gabba bash for his first birthday party. Why? Because this kid would eat dirt and ask for more if you offered it while he was watching his show. Seriously. I don't know what it is about the show, it's incredibly weird, but it completely mesmerizes him. This morning I showed him his party invitations (Yo Gabba Gabba characters with Evan's picture cropped into the scene) and he went nuts! Laughing and wiggling like it was the coolest thing he had seen, lol. 

So, what else is new? Evan's trying really hard to figure out this whole crawling thing. He is getting up on all fours, rocking, and just started moving his hands. He is still plopping down, but he's trying! I think his upper body strength is still weak, don't get me wrong, he has strengthened so much, but he's still working on it. I'm sure in a month or so I will be updating that he is getting into everything and I have had to move objects out of his reach. ;) Oh, and Evan has discovered the "wonderful" noise his teeth make when you grind them together! It gives me the chills every.single.time. 

We are also going to be switching Evan's pediatrician. And I hate to switch, I hate that this new DR will only know of Evan's journey so far by what is written in his chart, but I am fed up with his current Ped's office. Wednesday Scott took Evan in for his monthly Synagis shot, and guess what? Really, you're going to laugh. They lost it! They lost his shot. Our insurance company has their own pharmacy and every month they mail it to his Ped's office, and then they call us and we come in. Simple, right?! Guess again. Luckily for them, Scott was there and not Evan's very hot tempered Momma :) They ended up getting it figured out (Evan got a free shot this month, and his is still MIA) but this incident was the "straw that broke the camel's back". 

Thanksgiving is less than a week away, and boy are we a thankful family this year! I wouldn't even know where to start with my list.. Evan's quick recoveries, overall health, Elli's behavior and progress in school, my parents, Scott's family, Scott's job, my new job as a stay at home momma.. See? Long list, and that doesn't even begin to cover it all! Let's just say that we are BLESSED an so incredibly GRATEFUL! 

Oh! I have also started a local Heart Mom support group, with the help of another Heart Mom. So if you are local to Polk County and want to join, let me know! :) 

Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!  

Boy have we been busy!

I love Fall! The weather is finally cooling down (well, if you can call 80 cool?!) and there are fall festivals every weekend. We took the kids to several events and had such a great time! Elli had a blast teaching her little brother how to trick or treat ;) We couldn't walk more than 5 feet without someone stopping us to tell us just HOW CUTE Evan was in his little Lion costume, lol He was definitely a hit!

Evan has also started getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth! He isn't crawling, but he will flop down on his belly and then get back up and repeat.. Whatever works, right?! Evan is just a little laugh box too. He has figured out if he moves his head around like a Bobblehead toy, everyone will laugh, so he is doing it 24/7! Lucky for you, I got it on video :)

Scott and I are leaving tomorrow for Boston! We are finally going on our honeymoon. As much as I am looking forward to it, I am also feeling very anxious about leaving Evan for so long. He has never been away from both of us. My mom is going to be staying with the kids while we are gone, I know they are in great hands, but I am still going to miss them like crazy! 

I complain (a lot) about still having to wake up 2-3 times a night with Evan. I mean, he's almost a year old, at this rate we will be putting the kid back to sleep several times a night til he's 18 ;) But really, deep down past my late night groans and baggy eyes, I treasure the late night cuddles. He is so warm, smells so sweet, snuggles so close to me. We just rock back and forth til he either passes out or sits up with a grin from ear to ear or screams bloody murder for his darn bottle, lol.

*Sigh* I just love this kid, in case you haven't noticed.. :)

Regrets

Its days like today that I really miss having a second income. Elli was home from school today (Teacher work day) and it would have been great to go see a movie, go to a theme park, etc. But, those are activities we decided to limit when I quit my job. It has been almost 7 months since I received my last pay check and we are still adjusting. I didn't realize how much money we were wasting on "wants". It's definitely been an eye opening experience, but of course I do not regret the decision we made! My only regret is not quitting earlier. I feel somewhat responsible for Evan being behind on his milestones. Had I been home every day, focused on his care, I don't think he would be this behind. Yes, I know I can't say that is 100% true, but it is always in the back of my mind. The important thing is that I AM home with him now, and I can devote as much time to him as he needs me to. And I absolutely love that! I am so grateful we are able to make every sacrifice we make. We are definitely blessed. 

We are quickly approaching several "firsts" for Evan and I can't even begin to explain how excited I am! And apparently Evan is preparing as well! He must have known Halloween candy and Thanksgiving turkey were around the corner because his top two teeth have finally made an appearance! LOL They are so wide, like a wittle wabbit ;).. Aw I hope Evan still loves me when he grows up and reads all this mush I write about his sweet little face! :) 

We have lots of Halloween/Fall activities coming up this week so I will be sure to upload some super cute pics of all the fun Evan and his big sissy will be having! Here's a sneak peak of one of Evan's costumes, and no, he is not wearing tights, his legs are just that chubby ;)

Proud :)

Today I am one proud Momma! Ok, well every day I am proud but today I am extra proud! I have been working so hard with Evan to catch up on his skills and today he rolled from back to belly, belly to back, and then back to belly again! I cried, of course, because this was the first time he rolled from belly to back!! And it looked so effortless! I also tried to lay him down for a nap and shortly after found him rolled like a burrito in his blanket, all the way on the other side of the crib, laughing his little butt off LOL

The little guy has also starting waving "bye bye" and clapping! He started waving a little yesterday and is now a complete pro.. You should have seen him clapping away to Yo Gabba Gabba this AM, it was completely adorable :)

This is one of the things I love so much about being a heart mom; every single little milestone is just amazing to me! I've never experienced a joy that compares to what I feel when Evan does something new.. <3 Love that little guy!  

All about the boys

I failed to mention in my last update that we have a new family member! His name is Bruno, an 8month old Basset Hound! Bruno is the sweetest dog, a little hyper when you get him excited, but otherwise very calm! He is definitely not the brightest crayon in the box, but we love him all the same!



This past wednesday my mom finally returned from Hawaii! She had been gone for 6 months helping my sister with her new baby, my sweet nephew Clyde, who (lucky for me!) came with my mom to FL! He is so precious and has the prettiest blue eyes.. :) Evan was super excited to meet his younger cousin, little did he know his cousin was bigger than him lol He is learning to "fight" back slowly, they are so so cute together!

On Thursday, Evan finally had his first cooperative physical therapy appointment! LOL This time we planned it out; instead of our therapist taking Evan from the get-go, I sat on the mat with him first and then the therapist joined in. It worked out very well, thank God (dealing with a screaming Evan for 30 minutes is definitely not fun) and Evan showed his therapist all of his major improvements! He is still only rolling from back to belly, and only to the left, but with just the slightest bit of help he rolled to the right! He is also pushing up his entire upper body off the ground and reaching for toys while holding himself up.. Yay Evan! His upper body strength has improved tremendously in just the past two months.

Take a look at this picture of Evan with his Daddy, how sweet are they?! Evan is constantly saying "dada" and absolutely adores Scott.. He always looks at his Daddy and whispers 'Dada" then smiles so big, ugh they just melt my heart! :o)

Well, that's it for now folks! Before I sign off, I am just going to have to give myself a quick pat on the back for updating like I said I would, LOL! You will be hearing from me soon!

Shame on me.

It has been SIX months since I last updated our blog.. SHAME ON ME! This time I am really going to stay on top of this thing; I have no reason not to, and so many reasons to keep it up. Evan's story (so far) is one that I searched and searched for when I was pregnant with him. There are so many blogs from parents of children with HLHS and every single time I came across a child not only living with HLHS, but thriving with the disease, it gave me so much HOPE for our little guy. I feel awful that I have one of these stories and have not been sharing! Bear with me while I catch everyone up! 

May: May 3 was my last day of work! It was a very hard decision, but Scott and I thought it would be best for Evan if I stayed home with him full time. I loved my job, and the company I worked for (I am so grateful for the opportunities they gave me) but it really is what was best for Evan. On May 4 we packed our bags and headed to All Children's for Evan's pre-Glenn work up. He had blood work drawn and a physical done. Scott & I checked into the Ronald McDonald house and spent some quality time with Evan. May 5 was the big day, Evan had his Glenn (2nd stage of his surgeries). The surgery went very well, with the exception of some excessive bleeding. We saw Evan in his room once he was settled in and he was only on O2, no breathing tube! He was responsive later that day and opened his eyes. He ended up staying in the hospital for just 7 days after his Glenn, we hit a few bumps in the road due to O2 saturations dropping, but other than that it was a very uneventful stay and all went so well! Evan also had his feeding tube removed! The Glenn was so much easier than the Norwood.. 

We spent a lot of the summer indoors, keeping cool and recovering from surgery! Evan seemed to have a lot more energy after the Glenn. Scott & I finally got married on July 23 :) It was beautiful and I am so grateful our kids could be a part of the ceremony. 

Evan is 10 months old now and happy & healthy!! He weighs 23 pounds and is 28" long.. He is a chubby guy! He loves to eat, play, sleep, and snuggle. He goes to physical therapy twice a week but has been catching up very quickly. He is sitting on his own, playing games, giving high fives, saying mama and dada, walking in his walker, rolling over.. the list goes on and on! I can't believe we will be celebrating his First Birthday in just two months.. 

No one knows about his heart unless I mention it to them. He just looks and acts like a normal healthy baby. We are so, so proud of our little miracle boy <3 

Here are some pictures of everything you have missed!