Fall Fun with Dad!

Yea! Daddy was home this weekend!! Blaise sure does love him, and Mike can get Blaise to laugh better than anyone else! Melts your heart! On Friday, Blaise had his six month check up at the pediatrician. This time, the cardiologist had decided it was okay to go ahead and start Blaise on his vaccinations. Up to this point, he had not gotten any. He had a total of four diffrent shots- one being the flu shot. I'm glad he is finally getting caught up on these as whopping cough and the flu are already out in strong force! Of course, I wasn't too nervous going into this appointment, even though most mom's are. I'm probably one of the only mom's they've actually had who somewhat laughed at Blaise's reaction instead of joining in on the crying myself. Of course he screamed and tears streaming down his face, but in reality the poor kid's already had more than 300 shots in his life, 90% injected by his own mommy. I always get a kick out of people now who think having their baby's get their shots is the worst thing in the world. Hmm. If only Blaise's life would have been that easy! :) Blaise sailed through with flying colors, never even took any Tylenol and was no worse for the wear 5 minutes later. Man I love this little boy!

He weighed in at 14 lbs 11.5 ounces. I thought for sure he would be at 15 pounds, but he has stuck to his 5% on the growth curve. Dr. Groppe was very pleased with how he has been doing. Little Mister even has two teeth popping through! We go back in a month to get the second part of the flu shot, then sometime in November to start the once-a-month RSV/Synagis shot. Our next "regular" appointment is the 9-month in January. His SAT levels were 88. I'll take that any day! Hoping for something about 90-ish, but 88 is super!

I'm already getting nervous for his late November cardiology/ECHO appointment. It will be the first ECHO since the Glenn. I pray every single moment for everything to look fine. I honestly can't even think about it being anything BUT fine. I squeeze this baby more each day more than the day before. He is such a true gift from God.

Blaise is rolling around, held his own bottle for eating for the first time last night, sat up on his own for a photo at the pumpkin patch today, and actually ate his big boy food from his new high chair this weekend. We are hoping he keeps up his eating habits! He also got to roll around for almost an hour with his diaper off last night. Pure enjoyment for him and mom and dad as we got a kick out of counting how many times he "sprayed" the blanket he was on.

We went to the pumpkin patch by our house today and Blaise has a great time. His favorite part was petting the goat. He got his own pumpkin, and we all had a super time! He has a little amazement with animals these days. Grandpa and Grandma Hartwell's dog Cartman is the coolest thing ever. Blaise is hilarious he just lights up, squeals with delight and does everything he can to reach for him. We think Cartman will be the reason Blaise learns to crawl!

Pure amazement each day when looking at this little boy. I went to a craft fair with my mom this weekend, and saw lots of mom's there with their kiddos. I think I commented a hundred times to my mom how crazy I thought they all were exposing their babies to germs with so many people around. I guess I'll never really know what it's like to have a normal mommy/baby experience, but I think it's meant to be this way so I can enjoy that much more time with him at home!

 Pro pictures taken by Uncle Mitch's sister Tara! She did awesome!

 Dad's missing because he was busy trucking!

 Grandpa, Great Grandpa and Uncle Adam finishing up harvest!

 My Aunt and Uncle Boeck cheer for the Cyclones, and my Grandpa and Grandma Hartwell cheer for the Wildcats!

 Fell asleep while I was playing.

 Finally getting the chance to meet up with my best buddy Landon again!! We are the exact same size!

 "I think I'll just lay here and use this car seat as my footrest.

 Went to Grandma Donna's house!

 I HATE putting my coat on. Mom is so mean and makes me wear it all the time when it's cold out.

 I'm a big boy. I can hold the bottle by myself.

 Totally zonked out on dad. This must have been comfortable?!

 Cutest boy at the pumpkin patch!!

Six months old!

WOW! There were so many times since January that I wondered if we would be celebrating a six month birthday with our baby. God is so great, and has given us this special opportunity, as Blaise Andrew is six months old today! What a big boy! We are such proud parents. If a stranger were to meet Blaise for the first time, there is no way they would know the little boy they were looking at only had half a heart. He is doing just about everything a healthy little boy his age would be doing. Our own hearts are swelling with the pride we have of this little miracle. By far, this is the most fun we've had!

Blaise is a rolling machine! He rolls over all of the time now. He will roll to grab his toys, to play and more. I walked out of the room earlier tonight, and Blaise rolled all the way to the other side of the room by the time I got back- I think he was trying to follow me. The other night I woke up to a loud "thud, thud, thud" sound on the monitor. I jumped up a ran into his room to find him wide awake and completely turned around- his head where his feet normally are. He was laying there in bed the wrong way kicking his monitor!!

He has developed the most incredible personality. His newest thing is wanting and grabbing for EVERYTHING he sees. We will sit at the table and hold him on our lap when we eat, and we've learned to push everything back, because he immediately grabs for the plate and bowls and would pull them over on top of him if we would let him. He has an attitude. I'm not sure where he gets that from, but at hte moment we will blame Aunt Jenna. If he doesn't get something he wants he will scream- right now!He has this new high-pitched squeal he likes to use now too. Yep, he is still spoiled! :) He also has learned to get mad if we don't get him his bottle soon enough. If he see's the bottle- you better be ready to feed him! His trick when eating is getting his thumb wedged up by the nipple and sucking on it too when he is eating. STINKER! He'll be holding his own bottle in no time.

He has finally developed the Hartwell appetite! It just took solid food! Watching him eat is hilarious. You'd think a rockstar was standing in front of him and not just his spoon- he gets that excited. Grandpa Craig thinks he is like a baby bird just holding his mouth open all hte time for hte next bite. He gets solids about twice a day now. So far he has eaten apples, bananas, pears, peas and carrotts.

This past weekend was a long one spent and Grandma and Grandpa Sudmann's. Blaise got to go to Uncle Adam's for Grandma and Grandpa's 60th Birthday party, got family pictures taken on Saturday morning, and went mom's cousin Shauna's wedding reception. It was a busy weekend!

Dad has been busy working for about the past four weeks. We've seen him two nights since September 17th. Both times were at night while we were sleeping and under 12 hours. Needless to say, we are all ready for some time together. Mike hasn't seen Blaise roll yet, eat solid food, see his first tooth and just see how big he has gotten! It sounds like he might be home tomorrow night and Sunday, then it's going to get busier than ever. Hoping November brings some slower times and more breaks.

It's amazing to think that about this exact weekend last year, Mike and I were telling our parents that we were expecting.

Our big boy!

So much has happened since we last blogged! River City Rodeo has come and gone, and we all survived! Blaise was shuttled here, there and everywhere and passed off between lots of people. He was such a trooper and did awesome! We spent three nights at the Hilton Omaha. He experienced the parade, a tad bit of the stock show and event, and spent Saturday night with the grandparents the Chute Club/Bar Area during the rodeo. Michael got into Omaha about 9 p.m. on Saturday night - enough time to have a few drinks with me. He saw Blaise for a few hours Sunday morning and was back on the road later that afternoon. He has now been gone for almost a month straight, only being back for just a few hours two different nights. I guess I can say I know what it's like to be a single mom!

All three of us are super ready to go back to being a "family", but it doesn't look like Mike's schedule is slowing down anytime soon. Right now he is scheduled to be home again October 10th, but I'm not making any bets. Phew- is it November yet!?!

Blaise is still a super awesome happy baby. He still loves being outside more than anything in the world. He has started doing much better with his bottles again. We are testing out baby food- which he LOVES! We've done apples, bananas and tonight was peas. Can't get enough!

Yesterday was a developmental appointment at Children's that's been scheduled since he was born. It ended up being three hours long. He was seen by a psychologist- who made him do tasks like reach for toys, follow sounds, respond and so on. He was also seen by a physical therapist to see if he was on track muscle and strength-wise. A developmental doctor saw him as did our cardio-thoracic PA Carmen. We ended the day with a hearing test. We basically learned that they were pretty happy with how he was doing. He is about right on track, but slightly behind in some areas- upper body strength wise which is completely common with babies who've had heart surgeries. We've been told tummy-time should be done lots to keep up with his development. My goal is sitting by Halloween. I hope we make it! He can roll both directions all of the time now! It's so fun to see. Mike missed it and still hasn't seen it, so I need to remember to video tape it for him. He is about 10% on the growth curve in all areas. He weights 14 lbs 8 oz. His blood pressure was high- 120 (should be about 90) which alarmed me- but Carmen wasn't concerned. He also passed his hearing test with flying colors. I was informed that genetic testing was actually never done on Blaise right after he was born. I was a bit upset by this, because we were told repeatedly this would be the first thing done after birth, and the multiple times we asked for results were told that everything must have been clear because we never heard anything. Therefore, Blaise will be having blood work done at this next appointment on November 30 to see if his heart condition is genetic at all.

He also has an appointment in about a week withe pediatrician to start all of his immunizations, the flu shot and his RSV shot. He will finally be having a swallow study done November 12 (even though we've been feeding him regular formula and not thickened.)

I was reminded at our appointment that whooping cough is terrible right now and anyone that comes in contact with him should have the shot. They've basically pulled down the iron curtain again and for most part we will be locked into 315 Golf Link Drive into the flowers are blooming next spring. :( Whatever it takes to keep this little boy healthy!!!!!!

We also identified the culprit of the fussiness and constant drooling- his first tooth is just starting to pop through!

This weekend we are headed to Treynor for lots of things. I have Monday off work so it will be an extended stay.

God continues to shower us with His blessings.There isn't a single day that goes by that we don't feel his love and blessings in our life. We know He will continue to provide, and we will continue to live life to its fullest and not worry about Blaise's special heart.

 Visiting the pumpkin patch!

 I like this one!

 With my red butt monkey!

 I'm supposed to hold this sign that says Happy Birthday Aunt Jenna?! Way more fun to crumple it up!

 This was my super crazy hair day! I'm loosing all my hair on the front and sides!

Mom and me and the rodeo. I've got on my cowboy boots, jeans and western shirt!

Super Fast September!

I think a little more routine and slice of "normal" life enters our world each day! This past weekend Blaise ventured out to his first restaurant Fernando's in Blair with mom and dad. He looked around and took it all in just staring in amazement. The waitress commented on how good he was! We went to church on Saturday night as a family. Blaise was babysat in Treynor on Tuesday by Grandma Donna and I snuck into Ak-Sar-Ben to help a bit on Tuesday night before the rodeo next weekend. Blaise is on the tail-end of his Amoxicillin for his cold and cough which seems to be improving. Just a little cough now and then.

His development is going really good. He can roll over to his back from his stomach all of the time now. We have to put him on his stomach as he hasn't quite figure out how to roll there, but he is getting so very close. He rolls to his sides to reach for toys, it will probably only be a matter of time. He sits really well with assistance, but not on his own quite yet. We are heading back to Treynor this weekend so I can help set up for River City Rodeo, and then back to Oakland Monday- Wednesday. Thurs- Sun we will be in Omaha helping at the rodeo and staying at the Hilton. Blaise and I will be shuffling around quite a bit as Grandmas take turn babysitting and I come back to Oakland to work during the day. Wish us all luck. I'm super leery and nervous about having Blaise in a hotel room and getting sick. Asking everyone for extra prayers that this does not happen and that the weekends ahead go smoothly.

We are slowly trying to wean Blaise of the thickener used in his bottles as the FDA has put out some warnings against it. It's a slow process, but we are hoping he is back to regular bottles in the next two weeks or so.

We are still trying to think of a Halloween costume- any ideas!?!

Five Months Old!

Well, it's been pretty busy around here! Last Friday Blaise had his first cardiology follow up appointment at Children's since we left. He saw Dr. Danford and had rave reviews! In fact, when we were leaving Dr. Danford's exact words were "I"m just tickled with how well he is doing!" WOW! What an awesome thing! He said he thought all of the doctors made the right decision back in July when deciding to go forward with the Glenn Surgery. He has recovered better than we could imagine. He has absolutely no restrictions right now. His blood pressure was excellent, they were happy with his weight and growth, and his SAT level was 89!  A normal human's is usually 100 and they consider 90 "normal" so heck, Blaise is right there!!!! God is so great! We were told to wean him off his Lasix and by the end of the week will be completely off all medications for his heart. UNBELIEVABLE!

After our appointment, we swung over to the 5th floor to see some of our favorite nurses! We were glad to see them and they all thought Blaise looked great and had grown up! From there, we stopped by the Ak-Sar-Ben Office to help out a bit then it was off to Grandma and Grandpa Sudmann's for the night.

Blaise got to go see the combine for the first time and was fully dressed in his John Deere onseie, coveralls and socks!! Aunt Jenna came back later that night too. On Saturday Blaise, Mom, Grandma and Aunt Jenna went on  a big time shopping spree, as Blaise had NO winter/fall clothes. We all went to Starbucks, TJ Max, Charming Charlies, Target, Old Navy and Carters and Freddy's for lunch! Talk about a busy day for a little boy who hasn't gotten to do much!

Starting the middle of last week I started noticing a little cough that Blaise had. I thought maybe he was teething and choking on all of the extra saliva in this mouth and throat. Well, it continued to get worse, so yesterday I took him to the pediatrician since we have been told so often that getting sick can mean very bad things. As I thought, it was just a cold but she did put him on amoxicilan. He hates it! :) Any tricks to give babies medicine? We have three we give every day- and he is getting worse about taking them! Prayers for this cold and cough to clear up soon!

He has really taken off on eating! He does just under 5 oz every three hours. We can let him sleep at night if he chooses and the other night he slept from 9 p.m.- 5:45 am. I think it might have been because he didn't feel good. He is still doing fortified Nutramigin formula thickened to nectar consistency with Simply Thick. Last Friday the scale at Dr. Danfords had him at 13 lbs 4 ounces and yesterday at the pediatrician he was 13 lbs 11 ounces. He has pushed himself up to the 5% in weight and 25% in length now!! He absolutely loves rice cereal!!! He gets it once or twice a day and can't get enough! He loves to try and feed himself and also holds onto his bottle now- I don't think it will be long before he is doing it himself.

Developmentally, we are still just a tad behind most normal babies. But, with two heart surgeries before age 4 months and a month in the hospital I think he is doing pretty darn god. He holds his head up really good when we are holding him, does pretty good in his bumbo chair. I've been working with him non-stop on tummy time which he HATES and trying to roll from side to side and over. I've seen noticeable progress this week, so just will keep working on it.

He has started loosing all of that dark hair he has. He is getting pretty patchy and we laugh that he looks like an old man. It is definitely coming back in lighter colored so either blonde or a reddish-blonde.

Tonight we will be taking 5 month pictures of him! How in the world is the sweet precious baby 5 months old?!?!

His favorite thing in the entire world is being outside. It's truly amazing. He is absolutely memorized, obsessed and fascinated with being outside. We better get some pretty warm clothes so we can go out this winter!

 Four Generations of Farmers!

 At my cardiology check up! I don't have to go back for THREE months!!

 Aunt Jenna was feeding me rice cereal!

 Aunt Jenna won the battle of the teams this week! Go State!

 WOW! What is this shopping thing?! Too much fun!

 LOVE outside- getting my bottle after lunch!

 

Dad and I have a new game!

Welcomed to the Church

What an awesome weekend we had! Blaise was formally welcomed into our church on Sunday! Blaise was lucky enough to actually be baptized in the hospital by Father Paul, the same night that he was born. We had talked before and wanted Blaise to be baptized as soon as possible, and Fr. Paul was generous enough to come down at about 8 p.m. that night to do the baptism. We always knew, however, that we wanted to do a formal ceremony at the church since Mike and I were the only two present when he was originally baptized.

With our lives starting to become a bit more normal, Blaise getting clearance to go places like church, we decided to have his baptism this weekend.

So, on Sunday our families all got together and Blaise was formally welcomed into the Catholic church. Blaise is God's baby, and each day it seems like there are great lessons and explanations to why God chose this path for the three of us. What a great testimate to his strength and healing powers, the power of prayer and more that Blaise is now almost 5 months old and a member of our church! There were many times since January that we weren't sure if this day would ever be possible.

Grandpa Craig and Uncle Adam came up on Thurs, Fri and Sat and along with Dad and Grandpa Stew built a new deck on the front of our house and stained the old deck.

Blaise got to meet Uncle Garrett, Aunt Kari and his cousins Ashlinn, Cooper and Parker for this first time.  Both Great-Grandpa's were able to make the trip and be here for the special day.

Blaise's godparents are Uncle Adam, Uncle Garrett, Uncle Tyler and Aunt Jenna. Blaise was very good during church and slept in Dad's arms through it all.

He has started to eat better over the weekend. He was up to 140 cc's every three hours. For us, that is HUGE! He almost seems like a different baby and we could actually feel some of the stress of the last 6 months starting to slide away this weekend. Mike left this afternoon for a week on the road, and of course the little stinker was back down to 110 for the last two feedings for mom. I know he has it in him to do more though!

Thanks for your prayers! And thanks for joining us on our journey through this blog!