bye bye passi.....

Today we took Aiden to Build a Bear and put the passi in a puppy. He picked out the puppy and was a big boy, very excited. He put them in there with no problem, didn't shed a tear! He stuffed his puppy, brushed it and named him so originally "puppy".  Thanks Grana for enduring a trip to mall with all of us!

Bye. Bye passi! That is the last passi in our house (Since Gavin is a thumb sucker). Kind of sad....He's not a baby anymore.

Here are some pics I took this morning. Its hard to believe Gavin is almost 9 months old. The past few months have been great having him home and healthy. We are finally adjusted to being a family of 5. The boys are so fun to watch, they are truly great friends to eachother.

this is why you need a king size bed!

Ethan's 4th Birthday

On June 29th we celebrated Ethan's 4th Bday at Chuck E Cheese. He really enjoyed his birthday this year and we enjoyed watching his excitement and gratitude for everything. He is getting bigger and showing us so much of his developing personality. All the kids got to play games, eat pizza and cake and of course get prizes. Ethan was excited with his presents and seemed much more into the whole party for the first time. I guess he was just old enough to understand! Ethan's favorite is skee ball. I think it's daddys and uncle T's fav too! Aiden spent every token he had on the barney ride....thanks christen for endless Barney rides!

And the adults played a little : )

Jenna and Jack even came up! (The little girl many of you have been praying hard for)

Ethan got to wear a crown, get a birthday song and of course meet chuck e cheese. It was so funny because Aiden followed Chuck E around the whole time, even tried to follow him to the bathroom!

Ethan was too scared to go into the ticket booth, so Kinsley did it for him!

Gavin update...

We went to the pulmonary doc yesterday, pediatrician today and we have PT tomorrow. Gavin's lungs sound great! They took him off the meds he was on for his lungs (some diuretics) and they are happy with his development. He weighed 13 lb 4 oz. This is not a hugs weight gain but he is full of rolls and has grown to 25 inches long so they were very happy. They feel like the underdeveloped lungs might lead to slow weight gain for a while but he is happy, healthy and thriving. We all know he LOVES to eat! The pediatrician said his social development is at a 7 month level (he smiles, laughs, coos and says dada), His fine motor is about 5 months and his gross motor is 4 1/2 months. So thats where the PT comes in. We are doing babies can't wait once a week with a PT who comes to our house and works so well with our schedule. It is really nice. One less appointment to have to drag everyone to! He is making huge strides with muscle strength, rolling and reaching for toys. We are working on getting him to sit and push up on his knees when on his tummy. We finally started his vaccines today. Other than the synergis he got during RSV season we have put off vaccines since the NICU so he could have a chance to build his own immune system. That being said, the PED and I decided today it was time. So we did pnumoccal (being the most important with all the pulmonary issues) and HIB. He doesn't seem to be cranky or running a fever so thats great!

Tonight Ethan decided he is spending the night with Grana (for the first time). We will see how that works....I have a feeling I will be seeing him by 9 : )

Back to the NICU...just to say hey

Today we were able to go back to the NICU and take Gavin to see the doctors and nurses who worked so hard to save his life. Dr. Marino was there and was the first to swoop him up in her arms. She was overjoyed to see how great he looked! We were able to tell them so much good news and that felt great. As I was surrounded by all the NICU rooms, facing room 4 where we spent Gavin's critical days, and listening to the alarms I was reminded of the many days we didn't think he would make it to tomorrow. I never thought in those days I would be standing there, 8 months later, holding a healthy baby boy! They were elated to see no wires, no oxygen, no G tube and to see all the happy social smiles that demonstrate his neurological development. It was so great to see them all. For months they were our life, our saving grace, our family. I owe so much to them, they truly poured their hearts out to our family and showed how much passion they have for what they do. It was great to see the nurses that had him in the early days. One nurse was remembering the day Gavin opened his eyes for the very first time.... one of the best days for us! God is so amazing and has continued to show us what great plans he has for this little boy. It is so great to know that we are able to share with the world how great Gods love is!

God is good!

random pics of Gavin from the hospital

ICU trip... 2/12/2010

In the hospital 3-24-2010 (before surgery)

VBS- June 2010

My blog is not in order because it takes forever to get the pics uploaded.

Ethan went to VBS for the first time the week of June 21st. Rather than sending him to our home church (Northstar) we sent him to the church where he will attend pre-k. I was hoping it would be a good introduction to a new school and it was! He had a blast! It was a western theme and he got to wear a cowboy hat everyday. He learned scripture and principals, did crafts daily and made new friends. On the Thursday they did family night and he was in a little program of singing. It was so cute! they sang and did little hand motions. I love those kid of things! After the performance they had dinner and a petting zoo and pony rides. It was so neat. They all got to ride ponys, even Aiden, and pet so many animals. They had so much fun and Ethan is really growing in his knowledge and faith in the Lord.