Happy Technology Tuesday

 Daddy helped him through the night

 Found an angry bird pumpkin on our walk around the unit this morning

 Starting to smile again!

Enjoying tons of technology time

Andrew had a tough night. Hard to get comfortable and understandably upset that he wasn't home. In the past hour he has started smiling and laughing at his favorite show/movie clips again. We are all looking forward to a visit from Luke & Fiona this afternoon! Andrew had his pre-op chest X-rays this morning and is off the hook for any other labs/tests for the rest of today! Love you guys! Keep those prayers coming, we are so hopeful that this surgery is going to be a blessing in Andrew's daily life!

Pre-Surgery Cath Day

 Always such a good time in pre-op

 Mario Run to pass some recovery time in bed

Watching a show in the recliner

Today Andrew had a cardiac cath to close some collaterals before his heart surgery coming up on Wednesday. The cath went well and he is enjoying unlimited technology time to pass the recovery time. Four hours laying down, two more hours propped up a little in bed and then finally up in the recliner. He is upset about not going home tonight & not having a set day (soon) that we are going home. All reasonable things to be upset about. He chose Steve as the sleep over parent in his room tonight. Betsy will take the first turn sleeping at the Ronald McDonald House here on campus at Arnold Palmer Hospital. We got to Skype with Luke and Fiona (& my parents) this evening and they were both a trip. Tomorrow we are aiming to have a good, low key day. We appreciate all the prayers and support. Please pray for Andrew's sweet heart, both physically and emotionally during this journey. We are believing that it will all be worth it SOON!

Andrew has a Sister!

We figured that if we were going to use the blog for updates during Andrew's upcoming heart surgery & recovery we had better get up to date a little.  For example, Luke is now five years old.  And they have a sister, Fiona who is three.  Here are some photos to prove it : )

Baby Luke is One Year Old!

Seven Months & Starting to Crawl

Giddy-Up

 Andrew has the best Machie & Papa.  They got Andrew started on horse back riding lessons a few months ago, which he LOVES & has helped him a good deal with his balance.  He's a natural.  I got a chance to go see him ride for the first time on his birthday just before his party.  I came prepared with my zoom lens : )

Andrew has a blast going to horse back riding lessons

He recently started learning how to trot, which he thinks is hilarious.

He's good at giving Diaz commands with his words & with his legs / reigns.

He likes his new instructor.

He LOVES Diaz!

He fell off Diaz for the first time, but got right back up in the saddle.

Headed back to put Diaz 'to bed'

Helping with the buckles.

I love how Andrew looks like a grown man next to Diaz; she's so little.  Just his size.

Our little cowboy.  (That's the face a cowboy makes when he has dirt in his mouth & up his nose).  He didn't complain once.  He's a tough guy : )

Six Month Baby & Thanksgiving

Love these boys!

Supporting Children's Miracle Network

After spending the first 5 months of Andrew's life at Arnold Palmer Hospital, CMN has been one of the nonprofit organizations we've supported.  This is because of their obvious support for children's hospitals like Arnold Palmer; from the bed Andrew slept in to the portable x-ray machines & even the hospital play yard.  Since then CMN funded the renovation of the Cardiovascular ICU at Arnold Palmer.  This year we are doing their new Miracle Marathon, where we walk 1 mile each day beginning October 1st through the 27th going a total of 27.2 miles - a marathon plus 'going the extra mile' for the kids.  Local family & friends, please consider joining us on the 27th for a fun afternoon for a great cause.  As always thank you for supporting our family and our own miracle heart, Andrew.

P.S. If you are not able to join us the 27th, you can still help by donating on my miracle marathon page:

http://www.miraclemarathon.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=1021

Thanks!

Our Growing Baby

Sorry so slack with the updates.  What can I say, these boys keep us busy : )