more firsts

Wow, this has been a busy month for us. Sorry for the long delay in updating. This month, Ethan had lots of "firsts"! We hope to have some new pictures soon too.

Here's a quick rundown of all Ethan's "firsts" for this month:

- May 10th: we went Strawberry Pickin' (for my birthday - a family tradition for me growing up)
- Also on May 10th: Ethan had his first late night of staying out past "curfew" (aka bedtime) with his cousins and aunts & uncles while Dan took me to a nice birthday dinner!
- May 11th: first Mother's Day (he even colored a card for me with Daddy's help) and he turned 9 months old!
- May 17th: first time in the church nursery while Dan & I helped lead a budget conference (he was very good, didn't cry at all and kept the workers entertained with his babbling & overall cuteness!)
- Also May 17th: Ethan & I went to our first heart reunion at UNC Hospital' Farm for all the pediatric cardiology patients (it was a fun cookout with games for the older kids and a chance to see alot of our nurses and of course the surgeons who have helped fix Ethan's heart)
- May 18-21: Ethan's first vacation (we went with my parents to North Myrtle Beach)
- May 19: first visit to a beach - he enjoyed playing with the sand and watching the waves but the water was a little too chilly for swimming
- May 20: first time in a swimming pool, again it was a little chilly but his Aunt Jenny had a fun time teaching him to kick and float with her help (she's a former infant/toddler swim instructor for the YMCA)
- May 26: first Memorial Day cookout

Ethan also went to the pediatrician last week for his 9 month well baby checkup. He weighed in at 19lb. 13 3/4oz., putting him about the 35% mark. He also measured 29 in., putting him about 70%. He continues to be a busy baby, exploring everything he gets a hold of. He's doing great with rolling all over the floor and has started making diaper changes a challenge by wanting to flip over onto his tummy. He seems on the verge of crawling but he may skip that phase altogether, we'll just have to wait and see. We continue to thank God daily for each day we have with him and for how well he's doing physically with his heart, developmental progress, and hearty appetite. Until we hear if we'll ever be able to do another swallow study, we continue to help him "practice" his unthickened bottles 2x/day and do the rest still thickened with the rice cereal. He enjoys eating Cheerios, Gerber Puffs and all his baby foods. Ethan has also started saying "Ma Ma" randomly!

Thanks for checking in on us, we should have some vacation pictures to post soon!

P.S. We are looking forward to an exciting event on Wednesday. We are going back to UNC to be on a parent panel for their annual cardiology conference. This year it's all about Single Ventricle heart defects like Ethan's! We are one of only 4 families selected to answer questions from all the nurses attending this conference. We pray that we can be of assistance by participating and that we glorify God through our responses.

first weekend away from my baby

So in case I didn't mention it already, Dan had his first time away from Ethan 2 weeks ago. He was out of town all week for work. Now it's my turn. Over this past weekend (Friday and Saturday), I went on a trip with my mom and two sisters to Indianapolis for our cousin's wedding. We were only gone about 36 hours but it was still hard being away from my boys (Dan & Ethan)! Dan's mom came over for the weekend to help him out and they all seemed to have a fun time together.

Our whirlwind trip was fun and definitely a memory-maker. It was filled with late nights and action-packed days. It was great getting to see all of my mom's side of the family again (we all met up a few days before Christmas in Knoxville, TN except the bride-to-be) Besides the fun of the wedding, I also really enjoyed the plane ride. It's been nearly 6 years since I've had a reason to fly anywhere (last time was our honeymoon) and I love being up in the sky and looking out at the world below.

We will try to get some more pictures of Ethan up soon. His 2nd tooth has come through and we think more are on the way because he's been fussy today and still gnawing down on everything in sight (he especially likes my hair today for some reason). We'll try to see if we can get a good picture showing off his teeth but that's a rare sight. Usually if he's got his mouth open wide enough to see them, he inevitably sticks his tongue out!

Tricia's Discharge!

Our friend's blog, Nate & Tricia, just posted that Tricia's finally getting discharged today from Duke Hospital! She'll still be an outpatient for a few more weeks for some therapy and treatment. By the time that's over, their sweet little girl, Gwyneth Rose should be about up to an acceptable weight and also be discharged! Please continue to keep this family in your prayers with all the adjustments they'll be going through! Thanks.

First tooth!

Our suspicions were correct, Ethan cut his first tooth on Saturday! I thought I saw it starting to break through but once he grabbed a hold of my finger and jammed it in his mouth and bit down, I felt it and knew for sure! We keep trying to get a good look at it but everytime we try to open his mouth, he sticks out his tongue so we have a hard time seeing it.

In other news, Dan's out of town for work all week. This is his first time to be away since Ethan was born. Fortunately, his company only makes him do overnight travel once a year (for this conference) so this will not be a common occurence. I'm having lots of fun getting Ethan all to my self this week, yet, at the same time trying not to kill our dog (a mini dachsund) since she doesn't have Dan around to play with her at night!

I'm doing my best to stay busy and get out of the house some this week while Dan's gone before I go stir-crazy! Tomorrow, we go over to UNC Hospital to visit one of our heart buddies - Shelby. She's the little girl that we saw a couple of weeks ago for her first birthday party. You can keep her in your prayers as she is over there to get her tear ducts unblocked (eye surgery). I'll give an update when I have one.

Well thanks as always for checking in on us and our crazy life! We are so blessed to have so many people who care about us and are praying for us. God has been so good to us through all your prayers and has kept Ethan as healthy (heart and otherwise) as possible and we continue to praise God daily for his goodness to us. To God be all the Glory!

8 months old!

Ethan turned 8 months old today! We are so thankful that God has given us so much time with our little guy and do our best to not take a single day for granted, since we have no idea how many days or years he may be with us. Thank you to everyone, as always, for checking on us, praying for us, and encouraging us through our journey thus far!

A few new things to update with Ethan's development. He is getting better at sitting up on his own and he's started rolling over from back to stomach much more this week. For the past 2 days, every time I go to get him out of his crib (in the morning and during both his daytime naps) I find him on his tummy and fussing because he hasn't quite mastered how to roll back over yet! We also think he is teething since he chews on EVERYTHING and has been a lot fussier than normal this week. Oh, and one more new accomplishment - Ethan managed to pull his jeans off today while he was lying on the floor!

Well that's all for tonight, it's bedtime!

last RSV shot!

I nearly forgot about the appointment until about 30 minutes beforehand, but we did make it to the peds for Ethan's last RSV shot of the season! We won't have to do this again until October or November so that will be a nice break! Ethan's weight is looking good, he weighed in at 18lb. 11 1/4 oz. (8.5 kg) today so I'm pleased!

As always, thanks for checking in on us. Things are going so well that we haven't had too much to report lately. We praise God for Ethan's continued good health and continue to pray for comfort and strength for baby Annabelle's family as they grieve her loss. We also ask for prayer for baby Julianne as she goes for her swallow study tomorrow. She's been on a feeding tube her entire life and if she doesn't pass, then the doctors are talking about surgically placing a G-tube button on her stomach for feeding so she doesn't have to have a tube down her nose any more. Please pray God's will to be accomplished for her tomorrow. I know her parents desperately want her to pass but, more importantly, are trusting God for whatever the outcome!

Tricia's new lungs!

A few weeks ago I posted a message entitled "For Tricia". Tricia is a special lady about my age at Duke that has Cystic Fibrosis (CF) and has been awaiting a double lung transplant for over 3 months, ever since she gave birth very prematurely (24 weeks gestation) to her little girl Gwyneth. Well tonight is the big night that Tricia is going to receive her new set of lungs. What an answer to prayer for this family! It is also her husband's birthday today so that makes today even more special for them all. Please keep this family in your prayers, Tricia went into surgery around 7:30pm and the surgery is expected to last about 7-9 hours. Also be in prayer for the donor family, because they are grieving the loss of their loved one in order or Tricia to get her new set of lungs. For more information on this family, visit their blog: http://www.cfhusband.blogspot.com/.