Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!

Andrew's famous funny face

Our big boy on his 11 month birthday

Okay, this is getting out of hand; 11 months old! Hard to believe, because these kids grow up so fast, but also because Andrew is doing SO awesome. We go to see the cardiologist on Tuesday so hopefully we will have an exciting update then. Andrew is such a joy. We are so thankful for him & for all of you and your amazing support over the past 11 months. Thank you!

Our Beautiful Boy

Here's a couple of the pictures from our family photo session a couple weeks ago with our good friend Lis. If you live in the area, we recommend her - www.lrphotographyonline.com Enjoy!

Teething will make you do crazy things...

We are so proud of our Andrew. He recently learned how to wave 'hi'. He also loves to make us laugh by showing us his funny face; it's a pretty mild show here, when he really gets going you can see the little gears in his mind going as he tries to make his face funnier & funnier. It really ends up looking about the same, just a bit more desperate. And this afternoon while he was helping me make cookies I heard a sucking sound, which was surprising because Andrew doesn't suck his thumb & has recently decided that he shuns his binkies. But as you can see it was something much sillier all together. Just can't get enough of this kid!

Weigh in

Andrew got measured today at the G-I doctor:
Height: 28 1/4 inches
Weight: 18 lbs 9 oz
Head Circumference: 17 3/8 inches

For 10.5 months that makes him about 25% for height & 5% for weight, but the dietitian said he's 92% in his ideal body weight range, so he's okay. We think he's doing great (of course we do, right?) since at birth he was only about 15% for height & 20% for weight, besides the 5 month hospital stay! We're going to give him some more food each day now since he's bigger in general, but also to give him more calories for when he gets moving with more scooting & then crawling. We already notice a difference in how hard it's getting to hold him - he's all over the place. It's good stuff : )

Chomp Chomp

Two Front Teeth

How much is that doggie in the window?

Andrew wears a sleeper for the first time.

Well, Andrew's two front teeth broke through earlier this weekend. It's hard to get a view of it because he's still pretty defensive of his mouth, but SO cute! Their names (the teeth) are (from left to right) Benjamin Ralph and Adam Paul, or B.R.,A.P. (Ha, ha! We love Papa!) So now it seems we need to revise the Christmas wish list : ). So here it is. We are asking that anyone who is planning on getting Andrew a Christmas gift, please consider Share a Night for the Ronald McDonald House. It's $15, the amount is to cover families who can't pay the $15 the RMH asks for a room per night (even though it costs the house $50/night to provide the room). [See the link at the top left of the blog page] As you can imagine this is an organization that is close to our hearts & we would love to have donations made in Andrew's honor for Christmas. If you feel you must get Andrew something, his birthday is just 2 days before. My request is developmental toys. Please avoid stuffed animals (not great for the respiratory thing) as well as blue clothes (not a great color for someone who has lower than normal oxygen saturation). We're trying to come up with a birthday party plan. Even though it's in the middle of flu season, it's too big a deal to not celebrate. We'll figure something out so stay tuned for details.

10 MONTHS?!!!

Didn't I just do an update for his 9 month birthday? Well, he just keeps right on growing up. Yesterday Andrew turned 1o months old & we had an adventure all the way to Longwood (about 1.5 hour drive) to see the ophthalmologist. He played all the way there & all the way home; and in the waiting room! He was being a little loud in the waiting room. It was funny, I had to get him to practice his whispering because there was 2 other babies there sleeping. Of course he made friends with all the ladies in the office, especially when we were leaving & they offered us this mini pair of grandpa glasses since he had his eyes dilated. As you can imagine most kids don't leave them on, but my Andrew, always the exception, flirted with his big cheeks hanging out for about 10 minutes before he decided he should eat them. I saved them though so we could get a picture when we got home. We got a good report from the ophthalmologist. Andrew's eye misalignment is due to the muscles, which is corrected with surgery (outpatient). I opted to take him back for remeasurement in 2 months to make sure they aren't changing before going ahead with the procedure. AND his cardiologist already gave the okay to have it done with the pediatric cardiac anesthesiologists. So there you have it. We were very happy that his eyes are healthy otherwise. Andrew needs those breaks every now & then : )
I think we captured his new tricks on the video I posted a couple days ago. Besides that Andrew is trying to decide if he really wants to scoot or not. I've worked with him on it a bit & now I'm leaving him to it. I just put him on the floor with a bunch of toys out of reach. Hopefully he'll take the leap soon because I think he can do it he just needs to realize it. Then we're really in for it. Can't wait!
As always, Thank you for your continued prayers and support. The awe of how well our little miracle is doing never wears off. What a joy!

DRINKING!!!

I am so excited, I can't stand myself! This happened about 1/2 hour ago & I had to put it right up. I haven't been able to get Andrew to really latch on to a bottle & lately he has been weening himself off the binkies too, so for the past week or so I have been giving him little sips backwards through a regular straw (you know, where you hold a little liquid in the straw by holding your finger over the opposite end). I tried the one-way straw a couple days ago, but it's hard plastic & he wasn't having it. Well, today (as you can see) he did it! HURRAY!!! He actually drank 1/2 an oz in that sitting - more than I've been able to get him to take in a whole day before. Hopefully he will like his milk that way! With his tube feedings he can now hold 3 oz in his belly at one time! All VERY exciting!

Also, he just started clapping this past weekend. I think it's so cute how proud he is of himself for doing it. I am impressed he does it upon request. He jumps on request too (in the jumperoo). My smartie pants : )

AND - the motherload - he now says mama. I love it! He just started saying it in the past week or so & is really starting to master it. I've been joking since he was very little that I would get him to say mama first even though kids usually say dada first. ha ha! We are working on dada too. I have a feeling Andrew will typically be squealing that one - he gets so excited when Steve is around.

p.s. I just gave Andrew his 6 pm 3 oz feeding & he drank the first 1/2 oz through the straw!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Adventure

FYI

So there are a couple things I need to let everyone know about

FIRST: Andrew is still the cutest thing ever! He is tolerating tummy time now (hurray!) with very few spit up episodes. He has mastered scooting around like a hand on a clock and, much to his frustration, is beginning to scoot backwards - away from his target toy : ) He is starting to say mama (hurray!) - mostly when he is crying. Yesterday we went to the pediatrician & he weighed in at 18.5 lbs & was 27.5" long. He was in about the 20% for a baby boy 9 months old, which is kind of cheating since he will be 10 months next week, but we'll take it.

SERIOUSLY: Most of you have already heard that we are increasing security for flu season. Here is the official statement. To put it simply: it's a double whammy for Andrew because (1) he is more susceptible to illness since it is questionable that his spleen is functional (why he's on antibiotics all the time & gets synagis shots year round (to protect against RSV)) and (2) his heart / lung system is a delicate balance and any kind of respiratory illness (even just chest congestion from a cold) could disrupt this balance. We love our friends over at the hospital, but we much prefer to just visit them from time to time when we are over there for a check up! We know no one wants our sweet boy to be in danger so we are confident everyone will help us be diligent. So here are the guidelines (his pediatrician actually wrote it out on a script):
(1) Andrew is to be protected from public exposure. Nothing new, though I have to say, I can't think of anyone I'd rather be on house arrest with.
(2) No visits from airplane travelers (especially from foreign countries). It wouldn't be a bad idea to wear a mask on the plane (& very stylish, I might add) and we are thinking a month symptom free after a plane ride should give us a safe window.
(3) Flu vaccine for all. I know most people aren't crazy about getting extra shots, but take comfort that more than 1/2 Steve's and my families have gotten it already (thank you!) and the worst anyone's experienced is a sore arm for about 2 days. Plus, the word is that after getting the shot you should be rewarded by getting ice cream or extra broccoli at dinner! The information is out there & I've got a few links at the upper left of the blog page that you can check out. Check with your employer and throughout the community for free / low cost flu shots. Christy was just telling us about Catholic Social Charities (I think) that was providing free shots in Cocoa. Publix, CVS, etc usually have days you can get one for $ (about $20).
Also, if you have allergies, please take extra care to stay on top of them since we always have to err on the side of safety. Vitamins and good nutrition are also our friends AND wash hands like it's going out of style (Wow, I guess our mom's told us so). We can't control everything, but we have to do our very best to protect Andrew's life. And as a bonus, we will all enjoy being healthier for the holidays. If you are feeling like you may be starting something, please avoid spreading it to anyone in the family.
Thanks you all so much in advance! This is just one more way we have experienced incredible support from our friends & family. We could never fully express the blessing you all are to us.