Woo!

Not only is Evan going to be going to school this fall but Harry is as well. I had been planning on sending him to a preschool run by the parks and recreation department twice a week in the fall. Evan and Harry are so close in age that I knew Evan going off to school would make Harry very envious, plus I could use the break and go shopping for groceries with just one kid. Then when I was talking with the woman who is working on finalizing Evan's IEP she asked if I wanted Harry to be a peer model at the special education preschool at Evan's elementary school. Naturally I jumped at the chance. It was free and I would be able to drop them both off at the same time in the morning saving me extra trips. Plus Harry would be going in the morning where at the other preschool he would be going in the afternoon which is not his best time. Harry still needs a nap now and then or it is meltdown city.

I am getting more and more excited for fall to come. I am going to have 4 mornings a week with just the baby! Through my husband's work I can get a free gym membership and I plan on using some of those mornings to work out. I have been rather lazy for the last year or so when it comes to exercising so I am excited to get back in the groove.

Baby pics to apease the grandparents

A change of topic: Blue Ribbon Stuffed Mushrooms

These mushrooms make an amazing appetizer or finger food for a party. I made them for my knitting group's Christmas party and they flew off the plate. The few I had left over after the party were amazing as leftovers, so if you are making these I highly recommend hiding a few in your fridge for later. I added a bit of onion powder and also followed the recommendation of some of the reviewers to cut back a bit on the sausage.

Kid Pictures and Knitting content

Smiling baby! He has been smiling for about a week or so but I could never get a picture in time before now.

A silly little boy that saw me taking pictures of the baby smiling and wanted me to take a picture of him sleeping. Yeah he is sleeping all right lol

Another silly little boy that saw me taking pictures of his "sleeping" older brother and wanted me to take a picture of him sleeping.

Two silly little boys in bed. We used to have the bunk beds bunked but unbunked them due to Harry's daredevil antics. He loved jumping on his high bed. He would also lean over to look out the window making me very worried that he would fall.

Mittens! This is my first pair of mittens. I started them awhile back and only now took pictures of them. I gave them to my mom since I owed her a pair of socks and knit one but forgot to take notes (since I was not using a pattern) and then forgot the tweaks I did, like how many stitches I cast on in the first place. So I bought her off with these so I don't have to try and go back and figure out what I did on the sock. Anyone know a one legged person with a size nine shoe that wants a hand knit sock?

A close up. They are a nice thick wool so they should be cozy in the winter.

A change of topic: The Best Blueberry muffins

I have been meaning to share some of my favorite recipes in a more organized fashion for some time but the baby stuff had kind of taken over my brain and my blogging. Please forgive any errors as I am typing this with a grumbly baby in my arms.

Recipezarr has become my cookbook and while every recipe that I try there is not always a winner I have found a lot of winners. First up is The Best Blueberry Muffins. I made them for my ward's Easter brunch and they were a hit. I keep frozen blueberries on hand for use in oatmeal so when I made the muffins I used frozen and just baked them for the longer time.

Who needs sleep?

Life has been busy. It really is amazing how much time I spend feeding Daniel. You forget how frequently infants eat until you have one again. Some days it feels like all I do is feed him.

My parents are in town for a visit (another reason for lack of blogging) and because of that we had Daniel's blessing (kind of like a christening in that he wears white but otherwise nothing like a christening) in an almost hap hazard manner. About a week before they came I realized that we should probably let the Bishop know that we would be having the blessing that Sunday and only a day before that I realized that maybe we should have him blessed in the first place. I guess it really is true that the third kid gets the short end of the stick a lot more often than the previous kids. At least he got a blessing outfit of his very own. My mom bought one for him since the one we used for Evan and Harry was too big.

If I am on the ball I may post pictures of the gardening that I intend to do tomorrow. Don't hold your breath though.

The boys and grandma

I wanna hold Baby Daniel

Evan and Harry are always asking to hold the baby and occasionally I let them, watching them like a hawk the whole time. Poor Baby Daniel will have to put up with it until he gets too big for them to hold or at the very least active enough to squirm out of their grasp.

All mah boyz (messy faces and everything)

Evan is obviously the better holder of the two.

I promise Daniel is not crying, he is rather concerned though.

"Halp!"

A "the baby won't go to sleep" post

I had about five hours of sleep last night and it is not looking good for tonight. I am not sure why Daniel is being such a stinker about staying asleep (this kid has some sort of radar that tells him when I am ready to lay down and sleep because that is when he gets grumbly and fussy. He sleeps great when I am not trying to sleep), but it sure is brutal having to take care of my every day normal stuff while fighting the desire to curl up on my bed and zonk out.

To amuse you while I try and get the baby sleeping deeply enough that he might consider staying asleep when I put him in his bed I will share some pictures of the boys. Friday was our ward camp out which was not much of a camp out for us since we did not actually camp out. It was close enough that we could go for the dinner and evening but not have to stay for the night. The pictures are all of Evan and Harry because Daniel was busy being held by various ward members that wanted a baby fix with out actually having to give birth.

The boys thought it was fun to eat dinner on the ground. They asked for the lasagna even though they both hate it and did not even eat a bite of it. They did gobble down the macaroni and cheese that i brought for the potluck.

Throwing rocks in the lake was a blast.

I love Harry's laugh, it is very infectious.

The highlight of the evening was the campfire. They were fascinated by the whole process.

Summer!

Today marks the unofficial start of summer. We have a quiet day planned but did splurge on some steaks that we will grill on the good old charcoal grill. It is a bittersweet day for me since it is the last day of my husband's leave, tomorrow he is back to work, leaving me all alone with three kids.

Luckily we have a nice quiet week ahead of us. It is the first time in months that we don't have any doctor's appointments planned. I am almost giddy with excitement! It is nice that we are finally getting a chance to have a break and even possibly plan some stuff with friends (what most stay at home mothers do when faced with a day alone with three kids). I have almost forgotten what it is like to have a play date to look forward to. It will be nice to not be so wrapped up in just keeping my head above water and maybe get a chance to enjoy the swim.

Here is a gratuitous baby picture for the grandparents who think I don't post enough pictures. I love the twisted positions that babies can sleep in with out doing things like throwing out backs and the like which would happen to us older and more decrepit people. The poor little guy has a bit of a cold thanks to his generous brothers. I tried to keep them from sharing their germs, but that was impossible with such smitten older brothers.

It's IEP time

Disclaimer: if this is a confusing post it is because I had very little sleep last night and I have a baby that is finally sleeping in my in my arms.

We had Evan's first IEP meeting in preparation for Kindergarten on Wednesday. It was a very interesting process to get to the meeting and the meeting it's self was also rather eye opening. The preschool folks that did the evaluations were amazing. I think they did a great job with the IEP and if it is followed Evan should have a great school year.

Sometimes I wish that I could go back in time to the first time I was chatted with the neurologist about the effects of Evan's stroke. I would dope slap that man on the back of his head for telling me that Evan would show no signs of the stroke after a year. Maybe physically it could have been possible with a more mild stroke but Evan's stroke was not a tiny minor stroke. It took out a full third of his right hemisphere and that part of the brain controls more than just muscles.

This was really driven home when I was listening to everyone talk at the IEP meeting. The stroke affects how he sees things. He has trouble seeing things that come at him from the left. It has also hindered his ability to draw and write. Evan will not draw anything beyond lines and wonky circles when his peers are able to do a lot more. Evan writing his name is problematical for the same reason as the drawing.

Evan's language comprehension skills have also been hindered by his stroke. In novel situations where he is easily distracted he is less likely to be able to use different language skills that his peers can. He can do better when he is at home and in familiar surroundings but he would be lost in school if there were not going to be accommodations for him.

One of the biggest things that could hinder him is his easily distractible nature (another stroke issue). It can be hard for Evan to concentrate on what he is doing with out someone to help redirect him. We are hoping that we can easily get him a helper to sit with him in the classroom and keep him on task as well as helping him with physical tasks he needs assistance with. The budget crunch being what it is we may get some resistance with it but I am going to fight for that should they try and refuse. It would also help ease the pressure on the Kindergarten teacher who will also have other kids to deal with in the class.

I think the best part about the meeting was having my feelings confirmed about Evan's potential. He has the ability to be a smart kid that can catch up with his peers and learn to adapt to his brain injuries, we just have to get him the support he needs so that he is not forgotten and frustrated. It also confirmed my decision to send him to public schools. The services he will be getting are much more than I could even attempt at home and the specialists are much more trained to deal with them than I am.

R.I.P. Sparky

Once upon a time there was a happy squirrel named Sparky. He loved to run along power lines to reach distant trees. Once day he decided to try a new way down to the ground. Sadly for Sparky that new way down happened to complete the circuit. With a bang Sparky found himself in Squirrel Heaven.

We lost power for a few hours and now have a dead squirrel in our back yard thanks to Sparky's antics. For some reason my husband was not going for the possibility that we could turn Sparky into dinner (after all he was precooked right?). I would post pictures but I am not sure that you all really would like seeing the dead Sparky.

Two weeks

It is hard to believe that Daniel is already two weeks old. He had a great check up, he is already back up and a little over his birth weight. When the doctor listened to his heart he did not hear the murmur, so it is very likely that when he has his follow up echo in a few weeks that nothing at all will show up and that the hole that is present in fetal circulation is closed even if it was a bit slow to do so. Daniel also passed his follow up hearing test, so he officially hears even though we already knew that.

It has been an interesting adjustment having a "little" baby for the first time. We had to actually go out and buy some newborn sized diapers. The sized one diapers were too big to fit him properly with out covering his umbilical stump. He is also drowning a bit in his 0-3 month clothing.

Evan is cracking me up when it comes to "his" Baby Daniel. When he saw the umbilical stump he thought that it was Daniel's manly bits. I had to explain to him what it was and he actually seemed to get the concept. Later on when we were taking the baby to the hospital for the follow up hearing test Evan thought that we were exchanging "old" Daniel for a new Daniel. After all we were taking him to the place he had come from. It took us awhile to convince him that the Daniel we brought home was the same one we had always had. Evan is also obsessed with holding his brother, which he can actually do with a bit of help from me and the couch.

I finally got around to giving him an actual bath for the first time. Like a good mom I took blackmail pictures and am sharing the cuteness.

Aww look at that very sad face.

Someone is not very happy about having his bath.

Overdue update

I have been rather wrapped up in baby stuff which is normal at this stage. Here is a bit of a run down on the stuff that has been going on:

• Daniel decided that he would give nursing a shot, but only for one day. He latched on beautifully and nursed proving to me that he could do it. But in the middle of the night changed his mind and wanted to have a bottle. Once that decision was made there was no convincing him otherwise. Things are a lot nicer now that we are not battling wills at feeding time even though I would much prefer him to nurse. I do feel good about the effort I made to nurse him. The hospital had amazing lactation support and I feel like this time around I did everything I could and that there was nothing more I could have done.
  
• Good news: My c-section pain was very quick to leave. I only had to use two of the nice happy pills that my OB prescribed. Bad news: over the weekend I developed a pinched nerve in my neck which had transformed into the worst headaches of my life. The happy pills have been rather helpful for this when used with heat therapy. I am hoping that soon I will be able to actually function with out drugs in my system. I am so glad that this is happening when I have a lot of people around to help out, because otherwise it would be very hard for me to deal.
• Evan has a blister on his left foot due to his foot brace not being properly put on. I feel bad that I was not able to prevent this, but it was also not really in my control. He will be wearing sandals until it heals, so it is a good thing that the weather is getting very nice.
• Projects are being done at a fast pace. My husband and his father have been keeping busy doing things like building a compost bin, moving our shed so that it does not flood when it rains too much and finishing the bookcase that we moved with us in pieces. I am thrilled about the bookcase because that means I will finally (after almost a year!!!!!!) get to unpack my books and not have a pile of boxes sitting in my living room for guests to look at.
• I am starting to get a touch of cabin fever and wanting to get out more. If my headaches behave and leave like I want them to I may actually get to go out on a date with my husband so that we can see the new Star Trek movie which I am rather excited to see.
  

Pictures

The many faces of Daniel

The peaceful sleeping face

The Overlord is displeased face.

The almost gas smile face.

The "Rarw!" face

The gentle kiss from big brother face.

The cute little toes! (try not to drool on your keyboard)

I am home!

And for the first time the baby came home with me.

The delivery went pretty smoothly. I was apparently contracting rather frequently while they were monitoring me, so it was very likely had the original c-section date been there I would have had to have gone in earlier. I had been kind of having the feeling that things were beginning to start so I was glad that I was able to hang on long enough that it did not end up being an emergency situation where I had to rush and find someone to watch the boys.

Daniel Michael made his appearance at 8:53 am and weighed a very nice 8 pounds 4 ounces. His head was 14 inches around (compared to Harry's whopping 16 inches). We have been struggling with nursing big time and now that my milk is in (thanks to the mad pumping skilz I learned with Evan) he has no excuse and still will not latch properly. The lactation support at the hospital I delivered was awesome and ironically much better than the hospital I delivered at in California. The lactation consultant just could not get him to latch so we are taking a bit of a break and I am pumping for the time being to maybe see if he will change his mind and actually decide to be easy on mom and nurse.

Daniel has a bit of fluid still in his left ear so we have to go back and have his hearing retested. He also has a slight heart murmur that was checked out with an echo this morning. It is nothing major and very likely that the teeny hole between the atrium has not shut yet. Evan's cardiologist reviewed the echo but the wall between the atrium was not very well pictured in the echo so we will go back at the end of June for another look. I am not worried a bit since really anything that does not make him turn blue hours after birth is really not much to worry about at all.

I am feeling pretty ok, tired but my pain is not too horrid. Something that helped me recover a lot quicker in that area was that my OB did not use staples to hold my skin shut. I always felt awful until they were taken out when I had my c-sections with the older boys. It feels very nice to be non pregnant, I still catch myself squatting to bend down and pick stuff up when I don't have to any more. It is also nice to take a deep full breath. sorry if this sounds a bit disjointed but I am typing while pumping, on pain medication and after a night filled with sleep that was hardly deep and restful.

It's baby time

I will try and get my husband to update with pictures and everything. He is a computer guy but still clueless in the art of blogging and actually clearly communicating the information that is necessary for people to know so I may have to bribe him to even try and then write out a post on paper for him to type here. He also has no idea how to post pictures, so this could get interesting. I am praying for a smooth delivery and a smooth recovery (something that has not exactly happened either time) so I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers as well. I really need "baby stay out of the NICU" vibes sent my way.

Evaluation

I have been dreading Evan starting Kindergarten. Due to his heart defect and stroke I always knew that learning issues would be very likely. How could they not be? Most kids get all the oxygen they need to their brains from birth. Most kids do not have damage to a significant portion of their brains. Still, I hid my head in the sand and pretended that Evan's issues were largely physical in nature. I knew this would have to end when it came time for him to enter Kindergarten. I even considered homeschooling him so that I could pretend a bit longer and I could shelter him more from all the potential bullies and mean kids out there. However after prayer and the realization that our personalities are such that I would probably blow a gasket if I was to be entirely in charge of his education I decided that the public schools would be in charge of most of his education... for now.

Evan had his initial evaluation today. He can be very inattentive at times, especially when something he is being asked to do is not something that he really cares to do and that affected the the results. In most of the areas he was tested in he was either at the low end of normal or just below normal, so I do have the hope that he will be able to catch up to his peers with some extra help. He is getting a further more intensive evaluation in a classroom setting for the next two weeks which of course is going to be fun what with the baby coming on Friday an all. It sure is going to be an interesting juggling act but as this is the last evaluation session for the school year there is not much choice. I really wish that we had known our moving fate in a much timelier manner so that we did not have to rush at the last second to get everything done.

I just can't help but reflect on all the crazy and huge things that have gone on in the past year or so. There have been so many massive changes that it has been hard to keep on my feet and rolling with the punches. I really find it interesting that so many things with Evan and the baby have come to a head at the same time (the diabetes diagnosis and Evan's surgery happening at the same time ect). I really wish things would slow down a bit so that I can just relax and enjoy some of it but I am not seeing that happening.

(late) Sunday Cuteness

The boys dancing around our defunct yard light.

Harry modeling my newly finished mittens. I managed to finish them in time for the weather to get nice and hot rendering them useless until next winter.

This is a very blurry picture of Black Fish and White Fish our newest fish in our tank. The danios we had in there died (probably because I was horrid about remembering to feed them but I have reformed, honest!) so I thought some pretty goldfish would look nice in the tank. Evan likes the black one the best "because it is cute". Harry likes them both equally and they both love watching the tank and squealing over the fish.

Nothing seems to go as planned

I got a call this morning shortly before I had to be out of the door to take Evan to a follow up pacemaker appointment in the big city. It was my OB's office wanting to reschedule my c-section for the 1st. Which is one day before my in-laws are coming to town and my husband starts his time off that he scheduled for the baby. Greaat!

Luckily I have a great visiting teacher who was able to watch my kids for the actual c-section (even though we will have to drop the kids off around 6:30 in the morning) and my husband was able to get the extra day off he needed. Plus the Relief Society President is on the ball and going to get us dinners and the extra babysitting that we will need. It has been so stressful scrambling around trying to get everything replanned that I had already planned just because some hospital big wigs decided that my OB needed to attend a conference (one that I am sure was not planned at the last second). I could have gone with one of her partners but I really like her and would feel uncomfortable with anyone else at this point in time.

The upside is that I will be unpregnant several days sooner than I had anticipated even if I am not all that sure I can handle three kids. I guess I should have thought about that before getting pregnant lol!

So any way

Life is chugging along. I had my second to last pre baby OB appointment (eek!) yesterday. I actually weigh a pound less than what I did when I first came in. The Ob is not worried since I do have the diabetes thing going on and I was rather pudgy before going into this pregnancy. It is rather obvious that the baby is growing nicely.

I have officially given up on potty training Harry for now. He pushed the issue to train and he did potty train for a brief week or so but now has decided that it is not on his agenda any more and it is not like I can force this on him, he has to want to do it. The straw that broke the camel's back was Sunday and Monday. Sunday he pooped his pants moments after getting dressed for church. Part of our getting dressed routine is having the kids go to the bathroom before they get dressed for the day so there was no excuse. Then he had another accident as soon as we got home from church even though I had just asked him if he needed to go. Finally after going through two pairs of pants I left him half nekkid and he ended up pooping on the floor (argh!!!!!).

Monday he peed his pants at the OB's office and had to do the entire appointment wet since all my extra stuff was in the car. Moments after getting home and me asking if he needed to go he went in his pants again. I just do not have the the mental energy to keep this up any more and to top it off our washing machine is out of comission for the time being. I put him in a diaper and he did not ask to go potty all afternoon. I am just so frustrated since I know he knows how to manage his elimination when he wants to and he is the one that initiated the whole process in the first place. Sigh.

Just so this blog is not all whining and complaining I present you with some pictures of my cute kids.

Harry at one of the easter egg hunts we went to. He spent more time picking up the fake grass that some kid dumped out of thier basket than actually looking for eggs. I don't have any of Evan because he took off in a totally different direction.

A lot of grass and no eggs in that bucket, but lucking mom found him an egg before they all got snatched up. One of the bigger kids gave harry some of his eggs (with some prompting from his mother) when he saw that Harry did not have very many.

Harry: "Let me go!" Evan: "I love you too Harry" (For some reason this is what Evan says instead of a plain I Love You.)

I got the kids some spill resistant bubble tumblers after seeing them in action at Evan's Occupational Therapy. The boys adore being able to blow thier own bubbles and I like not being forced to almost pass out to satiate thier fascination with bubbles.

"Look Mom!"

I love seeing the boys actually play for longer than five seconds with out fighting.

Yes, I am running THAT low on laundry. Lol!!! Actually this is something that Evan decided to try on his own. Awhile back I jokingly put him in that laundry bag and he thought it was the funniest thing in the whole world. Now I have to try nad keep him out of the bad so I can actually put laundry in it. My husband helped him with the strings on the arm to keep the bag up.

"Hop, hop, hop"

Thanks

Thanks for the wonderful birthday wishes. My birthday was a very adult birthday. No one showered gifts on me or followed me around making me feel special at every moment. I still had a lot of errands and every day things to do. It was not a horrible day since I made it a point to get a nap. I figured I deserved it since it was my birthday after all. My big fun thing will come on Friday, my husband has the day off so I get to go to me weekly non stress test all alone and after I am hitting a yarn store to spend my birthday money.

It's my birthday!

So now I am entering into my thirties. My twenties were a time of huge change, it is strange looking back on them and seeing what I have become. When I turned 20 I was single, childless, and still very new to being an adult. Now I am more practiced at being an adult, even though I would much rather be a kid and be able to avoid a lot of the un fun stuff that comes with being responsible. I am married with two and a half kids, we own two cars and a home mortgage. The time when I could pack all my worldly belongings into the back of my dad's truck are long gone.

I am pretty excited to see how things change for me in my thirties. We will be adding another baby to the family, the kids will be getting older and (hopefully) more mature. I know a lot will be happening even if it is not as drastic as the life changes I went through with my twenties. I know I am going to be a lot grayer (Thanks Dad for those lovely genes!).

Hoppy Easter!

It has been a crazy stress filled week for me. Saturday we went to two egg hunts, one thrown by the ward and one by my husband's work. Sadly not a lot of pictures were taken because my pregnant body was too slow to get action many shots before the action was over. I may do some recreation shots at a later date, if I can remember to, but considering my spacey mind I would not hold my breath.

I am still pregnant and I am really starting to anticipate not being pregnant even though I still have a bunch of stuff to get done before the baby comes. I can't believe how packed this month has become, I have even been doing some double booking even though I hate having to push my self to do two things (ie appointments) in one day. I loved having at least part of a day at home and quiet yet now when I need the quiet the most I am having to cram things in.

Next month

So on Friday we finally (!!!111!!!!!!!!!) learned that we were going to be graciously allowed to stay here for another year. (Imagine that sentence with a massive helping of sarcasm) My husband thinks that the person in charge of deciding who moves where ran out of money in the budget to move people and caved in and let us stay. Thank goodness for some budget cuts I guess. It sucks that we will have to face yet another year of wondering where we will be moving to and how long the idiot in charge of deciding that will take to actually write the orders out (he has been late every year, if he was a civilian he would have been fired for incompetence by now). Not that I am pissed off or bitter or anything. Nooo not me!

Guess what I am going to be doing next month on May 6th. You are right, I am going to be having a baby. That is when my c-section is scheduled and since both of my boys have been stubborn and had to be evicted I am not anticipating going early. I was kind of hoping that he would be born the 5th so that his birthday would be 5-5 but 5-6 is still pretty cool. It is kind of relieving to be able to say that I only have so many more appointments before the baby comes. I am looking forward to the end of all the discomfort that has come with sleeping at night. Some mornings I wake up so sore that it feels like I have not been sleeping at all. I think I may be doing exercise videos in my sleep. I am looking forward to a nice bowl of cereal in the morning.

I have been having some odd food cravings of late. I think I could eat sauteed mushrooms all day long. Another more urgent craving has been for boneless buffalo wings. I have been eating them for lunch almost every day. Even though they burn my stomach I can't get enough. Luckily both of my cravings are low carb so I am free to indulge in them (within reason of course). I wonder what it is about them that is driving me nuts.

Name game part two

You guys are good! The names were pulled from a list of awful names that were sent to me by the NP that works for Evan's old cardiologist. She was trying to be helpful (with friends like her, who needs enemies? lol) when I mentioned that we were having a hard time coming up with a name for the little guy. I suppose to could have tried to claim that I was in labor, but that would have taken too much planning to pull off.

I have been relatively silent of late. Right now I am trying to not freak out that WE STILL DON'T KNOW if we are moving this summer or not ( WE STILL DON'T KNOW!!!!!!!! my head wants to explode right now), facing Evan's IEP which I put off even calling about since WE STILL DON'T KNOW if we are moving this summer or not (and it may be too late to get it done before everyone leaves for the summer so his Kindergarten entrance could be delayed while they evaluate him), and gestating the baby (who, IF WE WERE MOVING, would be so little and I hate the idea of having to move with an infant). It also does not help that I am having a hard time sleeping thanks to the pregnancy and a mild yet annoying cold that is running around the house. So yeah I am just trying to stick my fingers in my ears and pretend that everything is going smoothly even though WE STILL DON'T KNOW IF WE ARE MOVING AND THAT MOVE COULD HAPPEN AS SOON AS JUNE.

The name game

My husband and I are having a hard time agreeing on a name. It seems like what he likes I hate and what he hates I like. We have managed to come up with a list that we can't narrow down so I thought I would put it out there for you all to look over and add your input.

• Urlington Darkrin
• Huntquail Watcat
• LeCreed Leonimandas
• Dexman Cobartt
  

Please be kind, it has taken us months to come up with these names and it has been a very tough decision.

Sob!

This weekend Kansas got a bit of snow. The worst of it was west of me, but my poor little daffodils are all wilty and frozen now. Kansas is such a tease! I was all excited for Spring to be here but Winter just had to sneak in and ruin everything.

Spring flowers

The CHD Blog Carnival is up if you would like to read some of the other submissions.

Here are some pics of the few spring flowers that we have in our yard. I am a huge fan of daffodils so we planted over 100 bulbs last fall. The tulips were here when we moved in. we also have a flowering cherry tree that is looking a bit weather beaten after ultra windy storm we had a few days ago. I can't wait for more things to start growing and blooming.

Bebeh Pictures

I have been having rather frequent ultrasounds thanks to the possibility of a heart defect and my gestational diabetes. Today was my last one (woo hoo!) before the baby comes. He is still a boy and is looking healthy as can be. Thankfully he is also not measuring off the charts for size although he is still on the big side.

I also had my first 3d ultrasound. It was neat to be able to get a peek at what the baby looks like. He seems to be very much like his brothers in appearance. It was hard to get a good face shot because he was obsessing over his hands and kept sucking on them. I think we may have another thumb sucker on our hands.


This is an earlier picture that I found hilarious. It looks like I have an angry alien in my stomach waiting to come out to take over the world.

Gifts and Challenges

Steve at Adventures of a Funky Heart (go on and check him out, he is awesome) is having a blog carnival about heart defects. I obviously can't write about having a heart defect but I can write about having a child who has a heart defect, especially since Evan is not old enough yet to write for himself.

When we found out about Evan's heart defect my world turned upside down. All the expectations that I had for my firstborn son were shattered. We could be hopeful that he would survive his surgery but it was never a guarantee. We also had to face the fact that even if he did survive his life would be vastly different from what a "normal" kid's would have been. There is still a lot of uncertainty in Evan's life even now, only time will tell if he will grow up into an independent adult who is able to have all those things that parents hope for their children. The specter of him needing a heart transplant in the future is still there hovering over us.

With all those challenges have come gifts. We could not have asked for a better cardiology team to get him through his tough surgeries. There was no time to research and pick them, we ended up just going where our insurance sent us but even though it was a small program that may have been overlooked by more picky people we were made to feel at home. I never felt stupid when asking any questions. I never felt like I was being rushed through an appointment. They took the time to treat Evan as the child he was and were willing to work around his occasional stubbornness. The hospital where he received his surgeries had an amazing PICU where you could see the doctor on duty and never had to wonder who was making the decisions about many aspects of your child's care. Added to that were wonderful nurses who would treat me as an equal in the care of my child. In addition to his we have had many wonderful therapists who have helped Evan recover from his stroke.

We do not know what the future holds for our family. We can sleep easy knowing that we are surrounded by wonderful caring people who are willing to make sure that Evan gets the best of care.