Oh! October!

River City Rodeo & Stock Show was so much fun! Blaise spent three of the nights at Grandpa and Grandma Sudmann's and one night at the hotel with us. He came to the rodeo all three nights and just loved it! He wasn't a big fan of the loud "Boom" at the beginning, but he got a kick out of watching the horses and bulls. He would bounce his head clap and cheer and point when they came out of the chute.  After awhile he was ready to get up and run though.  I think the earliest he ever went to bed that week was 11:30.  He also got to hang out at the event during a few of the days too.

We've spent a few more days at Grandpa and Grandma Sudmann's and love the farm as much as ever. His favorite thing is to "drive" his tractors across the floor and make the vroom vroom sound.

The biggest news is that Blaise has started day care three days a week. He goes to an in home day care and his babysitter is named Connie. He goes Tuesday, Wednesday, THursday. There are about 5-6 other little kids there. The first week he did really good. The second week, he was upset enough on Tuesday that Peg had to go pick him up and the next two days weren't much better as he cried all day long and his eyes were red and puffy when I picked him up. I never realized how much harder it would be to send an 18 month old to daycare than a 12 w
eek old. I'd pick the 12 week old ANY DAY! By 18 his routine is already totally established, and his world consists of being one on one with an individual. I'm asking for lots of prayers that day care goes better for him. Although I realize he needs to cry to realize that things aren't going to change (ie mom's not coming back), we also have to remember that this little munchkin is doing this on half a heart and a full day of crying for a normal kid would wear him out.  

Blaise had his 18 month check up appointment on the 7th. It went okay. He only weighted 21 lbs 10 ounces, which means he has only gained 2 ounces since August. They were less than impressed with that. He is at the 14% and we have been strongly encouraged to help this out. We are to give him as many calories and protein as we can. Frustrating, since we were already doing this. Carnation Instant Breakfast, Protein Shakes etc. We are also asking for more prayers on weight gain as well. It seems like were have been sailing around pretty easily, but could use the extra prayers if you are able to send them in these few areas. Other than that, he got his shots and is pretty much caught up. He was really slow the day after his shots, and ran a 100 temp for awhile. His leg was pretty sore the next day and he had problems walking on it. His height was 33 inches and his head was int he 40%. They also said he could improve and learn a few more words.

We made a quick trip to the pumpkin patch with the Sudmann grandparents and had fun. This weekend its with the Hartwell grandparents.

The things Blaise does every day just crack us up. Lately he has learned to pull klenex off the back of the toilet and blow his nose. He knows where his nose, ears and belly button are. He throws stuff away in the trash when you tell him to. He is pretty darn smart I think!

Fall Fun!

Well, Mike has been busy trucking. It's that "time of the year". Blaise and I have been hanging out- just the two of us since September 1. I think Blaise is starting to miss his daddy. He is so cute, when I call Mike on the cell phone, I"ll put it on speaker phone, and Blaise can see a picture of his dad on the screen. He will pick up the phone, and walk around holding it up to his ear, jabbering away non-stop talking to his dad. He will walk totally out of the room I'm in with him, and go sit on the steps and just talk to his dad. It melts my heart! I think he is really missing him though. Bedtimes have gotten a little hard, as my good little boy has started to cry again when I put him in bed. 

He has started to jabber more directly, and everyone and a while we will grab something from what he says, and are able to make sense of it.

We have been doing lots of stroller walks and keeping busy. We've spent a lot of time at the farm in Treynor, and grandma Donna has done some babysitting. We went last weekend and stocked up on fall clothes. I actually dug all of his summer clothes out of his dresser the other night, and restocked with fall and winter. He isn't sure what to think of shoes and socks, he tried to pull them off and slid around the slick floors in his socks. He also wasn't a very big fan of long shirts and pants.

We are getting all ready for River City Rodeo next week. We will be spending three nights in the hotel and Blaise will be going to the rodeo. Wish us luck! Hopefully Mike will make it down for the last night.

Here are some pictures to enjoy!  If anyone has a cute Halloween costume idea send it my way!!

 First Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cone

A new hair cut

 Going down the slide by myself.

Riding in the tractor with grandpa

 Mom and me

 Bathtub fun

The ball machine at Children's

Finally got to see my favorite nurse Jessica

 Climbing in my stroller the wrong way

 With my great Aunt Terri and Aunt Gail

 Mom and I had a dinner date at Applebee's

 Nightly stroller walks

Nine Months!

God continues to shower us in love. I'm thankful to Him everyday for the miracle he put in our lives. God showed his greatness again today. Blaise did very good at his appointment. The first stop was to do a Pulse Ox reading and Blood Pressure. The pulse ox is just tiny reader they wrap around his big toe. It's more or less like a Band-Aid with a cord, but Blaise had an absolute freak-out. Screaming and bawling hysterically. My first thought was "great, what a long day this is going to be if this is how he is reacting to this thing that doesn't even hurt". In order to get the proper reading he has to be completely calm. Both grandma's came with and between my holding, rocking, patting and shushing and their pulling all sorts of toys out and acting crazy, we got him somewhat calm. The first reading was anywhere from the 70's when he was sobbing to a high of 86. A normal is 100, and  they prefer him to be upper 80's. We decided 82 looked pretty good. We then did his weight which was 21 lbs 10 oz, and that puts him right about the 10th percentile. I was hoping for a bit more from this picky eater, but they said he is still on his curve and weren't concerned. His height was 31 1/2 inches, which was about 40 percentile. We then went to his echo. This is basically an ultrasound of his heart, and he must lay still on his back for about 20-30 minutes.  I was able to lay down on the bed first, and hold him on my lap. It started off pretty bad, with Blaise wanting to pull of the monitor stickers, and screaming and trying to get away and push away the wand. We were trying everything to distract him, then he magically saw the tv screen in the room with despeciable me playing and was glued to the screen and was calm for the rest of the time. Funny how he never watches tv at home, but loved it today! I"ll take it!  From there it was back upstairs to re-do the pulse ox and try for a better reading. This time while the nurse blew bubbles, he stayed calm and the reading was officially an 82. I hoped for higher, but at least it's in the 80's. Dr. Danford read his echo, then came in to talk to us.

The official report is that all looks good. Nothing has significantly changed since the last echo. His right side of his heart is still small and not functioning, his left side is still pulling the weight of the full heart. The blood is flowing through the Glen shunt nicely. There is the proper amount of blue oxygenated blood flowing through his system. His unique problem area (the odd coronary arteries) are flowing blood to the heart wall effectively so it can pump. Based on all of this, and some of our answers to questions about how we think he has been doing, they gave us an all good report.

Dr. Danford said he doesn't need to see Blaise again for another 9 months, which would be the longest we have gone. Of course if something changes between then, we would need to go back in. By how it seems like Blaise is doing, they are guessing they wouldn't be doing the Fontan surgery next summer, but the summer after- the summer of 2015. We joked that we were waiting for the new Rainbow House to be finished (which happens in the summer of 15). He will still be getting his RSV Synagis shots all winter to protect against RSV. He said we should still be very cautious this winter with him and going out and exposing him to too much. We inquired about possibly taking him to daycare, and Dr. Danford felt like he would do okay with that.

Blaise and I went to the park tonight to celebrate him being a good boy. He was so happy by the end of the appointment he was trying to climb on Dr. Danfords lap. I think he could tell that Blaise has a lot of energy! To top of a perfect day, tonight after I put Blaise to bed, for some odd reason he started crying a while later. He usually doesn't do this, so I went up and got him out of bed and came down and rocked him for awhile. He was sharing the sweetest smiles with me, and it made me so happy with how blessed we are to have this angel in our lives. Thank you to our prayer warriors! God definitely hears each of our prayers!

More Fair, More Fun, Future Appointment

August continued to roll fast and furious through the days! Michael, Blaise and I headed with my parents to Des Moines to visit Jenna and Mitch and go to the Iowa State Fair. We had an awesome time. Blaise did super fabulous! He took a short tap while we were there, but didn't miss out on much at all! Thankfully it was a pretty decent weather day. We saw all the animals, watched part of the Bill Riley Talent Show, ate at the Pork Tent, and Blaise got to stand in the cattle show ring. We had a really, really great time in Des Moines and hanging out with our family. Mike's birthday was spent visiting my parents in Treynor, as my aunt and uncle were traveling through town from Nashville on their way to Jackson Hole. We had fun catching up with them! Labor Day weekend was a little low key, we went to some friends to watch the Nebraska Game, Blaise got to hold his first own ice cream cone, we headed to  Sudmann family reunion in Treynor and then Blaise and I stayed at my parents on Labor Day and we went shopping all day! He did really great. Blaise has spent the week in Treynor as my parents babysit him, and I have drove back and forth to Oakland for work. He LOVES the farm. Seriously. The kid is a true farm boy. I don't think he even wanted to come home tonight. He also loves his grandparents more than his mom I think! He got to pet the horses multiple times a day, ride on the Ranger, ride on the Tractor numerous times, go to the park and shop with Grandma. He got his haircut last night and it is super cute!

We are asking all of our prayer warriors to say extra prayers as Blaise goes to his six month cardiology appointment on Tuesday. I'm anxiously awaiting for this appointment to be done! We are praying for excellent and news and to hopefully not have to go back again for another six months!! I hope to hear that he has blown them away with how great he is doing! Thanks in advance for all of your extra prayers. No parent should ever have to go through the stress of taking their child to cardiology appointments and waiting on pins and needles to hear the results. It's pretty hard to explain or put into words the thoughts, fears and anxiety of going through it. In addition, hearing Blaise screaming hysterically and sobbing as he is scared to death of the doctors and has no idea what they are doing to him, and we can't explain it. Phew. Ready for Tuesday to be over and for us to send more praises to God for this little miracle!! In Him we Trust!

I wish I had pictures to share, but I just purchased a brand new computer, and CAN NOT figure out how to use it!! If anyone has advice on Windows 8 please share!!! I promise to learn soon and get some posted!

Cows, pigs and hotdogs - Oh My!

It's been a fairly cool summer, but that hasn't stopped us from having fun! The last few weeks have been filled with fun in the yard with our neighbors, a couple of trips to the pool, a trip to Aunt Jenna and Uncle Mitch's in Des Moines and the Burt County Fair!

Blaise is officially 16 months old, where has our baby gone!?!? He is very inquistivive, and loves "doing things" like putting things in buckets, or stacking or moving rocks from one place to another. He gets frustrated RIGHT NOW when he can't get something done or it doesn't go his way. He is very bull-headed. He would live every moment outside if he could. He still doesn't say too many words but has many ways of communicating with us and showing us he understands what we say. When I told him to pour water on his dads toes the other night he did. If you tell him to find his pacifier he will. If it's time to go outside, he will go find his shoes, and also find ours and try to put them on us- which means lets go outside. He pretty much copies just about anything we do these days. He has to eat everything we do. His eating has improved just a bit. He finally has two teeth- his bottom ones and his two front top ones are just about to come in. He has a few other buds in the back too. As of yesterday, he weighed 21 lbs 8 oz at the doctors office with all of his clothes on. He practically runs everywhere he goes now. Hotdogs are still his favorite food, as is any type of fruit! He loves carrying around buckets, especially buckets full of water. He has now fully conquered stairs too. As of this weekend, we've stopped giving him any bottles. This made mommy kind of sad, as my favorite time of the day was rocking him at night while he took his bottle.

He has had a bit of something the last week. We aren't totally sure what it is but he has had some diarrhea and a bad rash across his chest. After a week of this, we took him to the pediatrician yesterday. They aren't a hundred percent sure, but it could be a virus or possibly bacteria that he got from his time at the fair or from the water in his splash table. We are asking for a few prayers for this to clear up soon!

Speaking of the fair, Blaise absolutely loved it!  He loved the animals, he loved watching people, he loved eating there, and he loved that he could play in the dirt and everything else and do whatever he wanted without getting in trouble from mom and dad!! We spent 14 straight hours there on Sunday and he did awesome! He got a ride on the merry go round, and loved it so much that as soon as I put him on it he started spurring hte horse and bouncing his head trying to get it to go. He giggled the whole time, and after I put him on the ground after getting him off, he did a u-turn and a beeline back to the out-gate to try and get back on.

He actually knows where we are when he drive around now. Anytime we get to the city dump (which is about a mile from grandpa's cows) he get's really excited and starts pointing and yelling because he knows we are going to see the cows. Pointing at everything is is absolute favorite. When he saw the fair buildings he would point and get excited too!

His cousins from Aberdeen were here during the fair and he loved playing with them too! We made a trip to Des Moines and he did great doing lots of shopping with mom, grandma and Jenna. We are headed back there this weekend to go to the Iowa State Fair!

Now for the more serious part of this update- we received "the letter" in the mail yesterday from Children's telling us his next cardiology appointment is September 10th. I CAN"T believe it's already been six months since his last. Of course I'm already super, super, super nervous. I think he is doing fine- but the ECHO will tell us more. In the back of my mind it's hard not to think that we are nearing the next surgery already. I pray that this appointment goes great and they tell us not to come back for another six months and his next surgery isn't until he is three or older!   We ask that you say a few extra prayers for Blaise as this next appointment nears!

 Walking down my street before I got my haircut. I HATE getting my hair cut.

 Standing in a bucket of water. I got in here all by myself.

 Playing in the wood chips at the fair.

 Playing at the fair horse arena with my cousin Cooper.

 Helping my dad in the arena during the cattle show at the fair.

 Checking out the bunnies at the fair.

 Riding the merry go round at the fair.

 Cooking some blocks.

 I got here on the arm of the couch all by myself. I have no fear and love to climb.

 Here I am really helping mom cook. I was 16 month old on this day.

 

My babysitter Jesse took me to the flower shop and I got to ride this horse there. 

 

Helping mom open her birthday present. 

 At the park.

 In Des Moines with Aunt Jenna.

 Des Moines with Aunt Jenna and Uncle Mitch.

 Zonked out.

 A trip this early summer to hte zoo.

 This is me on my 14th birthday I got my first tooth this day.

 I throw all the rocks on the slides at the park. Slides are my favorite part,  and I go down them by myself now.

 I like to climb into my chair to read books.

 This was me on the 4th of July in my cute outfit.

 This was me at the lake on the 4th of July.

 Mom and Dad- I'm running away from home!

 Riding in dad's semi.

 I visited Grandpa and Grandma Hartwell when they were camping. This picture is on my 15th month birthday.

 Another tired boy!

July Then- July Now!

On July 12th- Blaise turned 15 months old! That day also marked one year since he was admitted to Children's Hospital for a month stay, including his second open heart surgery. I'm glad much of that month is blurred from my memory.

We are having one fantastic summer! If it's not evident by the lack of photos or blog posts, we are busy and having fun! As I'm downloading pictures tonight, I can't believe I haven't done this in almost three months!! I am starting to feel really guilty about how few pictures I've been taking since he turned one. Darnit! I hope I don't regret it some day!

Blaise loves anything to do with outdoors and water. He is a walking, crawling, climbing machine. He loves dogs, horses and cows. He knows the cow shed from about a half mile down the road and starts yelling with excitement. He also see's our neighbor kids from about half a block away if they are outside and starts yelling wanting out to play.

We've been having such an awesome summer! We went to Omaha for my birthday last weekend and took  Blaise to the Children's museum and he loved it! We went out to eat in the Old Market and did his fourth zoo stop for about an hour the next morning.  Blaise attends church regularly with us, and most times everyone there knows he is there too! He is a bit hard to keep quiet at times!

He did really well with the 4th and for the most part enjoyed fireworks. No tears and cries- he watched with open eyes. We met my parents for the Tekamah parade and he also really enjoyed that as well.

He is such, such a lover. He loves to cuddle,  give hugs and love pats. He is fairly sensitive and cries and sobs if he is told no. His big accomplishment is going to bed by himself without Mike and I rocking him to sleep downstairs first.

We love, love our big boy and thank God for him every single day.

 Ready for bed late May

 In my jammies early June

 Riding my doggy the wrong way early June

 Splashing in my swimsuit in the water table. Mid June

 Mid June

 Playing on my swing set with dad. Late June.

 At the Children's Museum early July

 Visiting grandma and grandpa Hartwell camping. Last weekend.