9 months old!

blue eye baby

my monkey on his 9 month birthday

Well, my big boy turned 9 months old yesterday. It was a good day too. We went to see the cardiologist (& then up to see our friends in the CVICU) & Andrew was such a little man. He barely fussed at all. He did act shy when we went up to the cardiac unit at Arnold Palmer, but we didn't leave before he gave some of the ladies a smile. My boy really is a flirt. The cardiologist was very happy with how well Andrew is doing. We got rid of two more meds & cut back on two more. He has to get some blood work done (sorry buddy) in about 2 weeks to make sure he's tolerating his new regimen. Steve & I are so excited to hear the good report. We see how awesome he's doing day to day, but it's still encouraging to hear the doctors happy with his heart function.

Non-medically: Andrew is still the cutest thing ever & SO much fun. I think he's trying to cut another tooth. He is in his bed right now (just woke up) chomping away on his binkie. This morning he got Mommy couple times too. Which brings me to discipline - can you see it, I try to keep a straight face - Andrew got scolded the other day for trying to play with his feeding tube (he almost pulled it out & I just reacted), but he understood, which took me by surprise. I had a hard time keeping a stern face because he looked so heartbroken. Now when I am feeding him he puts his hand as close to the tube as he can without actually grabbing it & just looks at me - and so it begins : ) He doesn't have to be on the feeding tube throughout the day anymore, instead he gets little 'meals' through his tube every other hour. We're up to 2 oz at a time. (whoo-hoo) This gives him more freedom to play (& less opportunity for trouble : ) For this reason, the ban on shirts and shorts is now lifted. He still has to wear a onesie to bed because he's on the tube all night, but it's actually easier now to have him wear shirt & shorts during the day. It makes him look like such a big boy! Wow, that's a lot of stuff. I'm sure there's more, but I have to go play with him now. Thanks again to everyone for your prayers and support! Every day is like a dream come true!

Crack up!

Here's a great video of Andrew busting a gut. This past week he got visits from both Machie & Grandma Dawn - at the same time! As you can see it was good times. Machie was sneaky getting this video of him laughing because he usually stops whatever cute thing he is doing & just stares at the camera when it comes out. I think most kids do that. This kid is just too much fun! The Heart Walk went well yesterday. Andrew's Aunt Katie went with me & we enjoyed out 5K stroll with the other Precious Little Hearts. Hopefully Andrew will be able to join us next year because it was great to see our little red cap survivors.

Count Down to Heart Walk

So it's a little big.

This Saturday is the American Heart Association's Heart Walk which I am participating in with the other members of the Precious Little Hearts of Central Florida and our friends / family. Thanks so much to those of you who have already donated! If anyone still would like to make a donation, just click the link at the top left of the blog (it says Mommy's Heart Walk Page). We are planning on meeting up with the team from the Congenital Heart Institute (where most of our children receive cardiac care) for the walk. We are excited to walk in honor of our Precious Little Hearts & hopefully work toward raising awareness & support for the #1 birth defect, Congenital Heart Defects. I'm not taking Andrew this year, but I'm pretty sure the shirt will fit for some time : )

Nothin like a good book

...he also likes to eat them : )

showing off in the tub

Andrew has been so excited these past few days to have Steve around more. Steve has been working overtime the past few weeks for the upcoming shuttle launch as well as keeping pretty busy with work at home for our business. Anyway, here's a little taste of Andrew showing off. Aunt Sue definitely knows what we're talking about. She is one of Andrew's favorite people to show off for. He is also talking a lot more, like last night instead of fussing to wake me up to change his diaper he was literally yelling at me. Or like this morning when I walked out of the room to get some coffee & he hollered after me. Ha! I guess he better get away with it while we're still just excited to see him communicating vocally : ) He loves to hang out in our bed, especially when we are all in it. He will put one hand on Steve's face & one on mine & just look back & forth smiling. Actually sometimes he tries to get Steve's attention by starring at him & smiling - even when Steve is still asleep. It's so cute! Another cute thing he just started doing is patting us on the back. I love it when babies do that! He is also sitting up better & better everyday. Right now he can sit by himself for about 10 minutes.

A quick word

I just feel the need to be honest...
Steve & I are having a blast being Andrew's parents & having him home is awesome, but it is also scary. You all have been through a lot with us & have witnessed the miracles that God has granted us, the reason Andrew is with us today, but I just felt like recently the blog has only been a best foot forward type of thing. For myself, I still struggle with the fear of loosing Andrew. You may be wondering why I am writing this, there is a reason. Because in a way this reality is also blessing, a constant reminder to cherish every second. I know many of you know what I am talking about. But for some reason our dumb nature longs for everything to be just perfect only to take it for granted when it is. (This is a mystery to me.) I guess I just wanted to encourage everyone that when the kids are healthy and the bills are paid and so on, to make the time (in our insanely busy lives) to really appreciate your loved ones. One of my favorite people once said there are probably a hundred ways you could show that person know you love them. He was right. All those things that seem so important - it's just busy work, like back in 4th grade when the teacher gave you a worksheet to do because apparently her lesson plan took way less time than she anticipated & she had to do something with you for the next 20 minutes , so crossword puzzle (related to whatever holiday that was coming up) it is. People, we are missing out on after school play time & recess for stupid busy work. Even kids are smarter than that. The craziest thing I do is spend time worrying about things & I complete miss out on the blessing of that moment. Seriously, go out on a date with your spouse & have tea with your daughter, whatever. Money will probably always be tight & the house will definitely always need to be cleaned. Surely spending time with the Lord daily is even more important! 'for Mary has chosen the better part, which shall not be taken away from her' LUKE 10:42 I don't write this as someone who has figured it all out, in fact quite the opposite, I'm as big a fool as ever, but God has placed me in a position to be faced with my foolishness (I usually like to hide from that) & hopefully my foolishness will be of benefit to you as well. In any case, thanks for listening.