First week of school!

Well, we have survived the first week of school. Elise started third grade on Monday and Craig is in Preschool. so far they have had a really good start and made some good friends. Nolan is talking more and catching up with his communication. When I was leaving with Ethan for hsi cardiology appointment on Wednesday, Nolan waved his little hand and said bye!!! This is the first time he has done this and the first time he has said anything that clearly. He has continued to do it for the past couple of days and we are thrilled. Ethan went to Houston for another echo and chest x-rays. After 2 1/2 hours of tests and doctor evaluations, Dr. Altman came in and asked how he was doing. I told her he was doing fine and that he was our little miracle man. She said that after looking at his echo and x-rays and going over all of his data, she had to concur. Needless to say it has been a really good week. I am so grateful. Please continue praying for Ethan and our family. He is doing well because of the faith of those praying for him. Our next appointment is September 26th...a full month away. I can't believe that they are comfortble enough with his condition that he can go four weeks without an appointment. Prayer is amazing!

First Panic Attack

Ethan is fine. Just thought I would get that out before the rest of this post. Last Thursday he started running a low grade temperature and so we took him to the Dr. Fidone Friday morning. The checked his blood count and did flu and RSV tests just because he is so little. Those both came back negative as we thought they would but had to check and make sure. He has boogers. That's our final diagnosis. The only concerning issue for the Dr. was the fact that Ethan is coughing. So, we get sent over to the hospital imaging center for chest x-rays becuase he doesn't have the immune system to fight off pneumonia...as if any 4 week old would! Anyway, he's fine but at home with Momma this Sabbath morning to stay away from germs. I sneaked him up to the church yesterday for a few minutes so I could watch my other kiddos play at their Primary Activity water day. They had so much fun. I am so grateful for their primary teachers and leaders. They are really great ladies who take their callings seriously. Today I've been able to put Ethan down for about 10 minutes. He wants in my lap. I did get to go to the bathroom which I am calling a luxury at this point. Texas Children's has some scheduling conflict with the Echo Lab and my cardiologist this week so his next cardilogy visit will be put off another week. We go back to Fidone in the morning to check up on his cold.

On another note, Elise was very excited at Ballet this week. She has been assigned a spot in prologue (spelling) for the company's performance of the nutcracker this Christmas and she is so over the top excited about it. We are very pleased with her progress. This is her third year of ballet company but her sixth year of dance. She is such a good girl and big sister.

The rest of the crew is doing fine. Craig started preschool this week and Nolan is just being Nolan. He is starting to talk more but we are really pushing the issue with him. He jsut doesn't want to communicate. I can't wait until his speech lab/audiology visit at TX Children's in October. I just want to make sure that there isn't anything physically wrong that is delaying his speech and get him into speech lab so he can catch up to his milestones. I just want to be able to talk with him and cut his frustration level.

I'm Awake!

Ethan is doing as well as ever. He had another cardiology appointment with Dr. Altman last thursday and she is so pleased with how he is doing that he gets to wait two weeks until his next appointment. His personality is starting to present itself. He is amazing...and wide awake. He loves to cuddle. He loves to look around and watch the world. He expecially loves watching the wind blow the trees and looking at the ceiling fan. He gets a concentration wrinkle in his forehead when he watches. It's like he is trying to figure them out. I feel so blessed to have him with me and that all of my kids are together. One thing has come out of this experience. I am enjoying my kids more than I ever have. Every minute I can spend with them I do. I'm almost scared to let Ethan out of my sight. Elise has asked that I also mention that he loves music. He likes to sit in his bouncy and listen to the jungle sounds that are programmed in (it's a jungle themed bouncie). He hates the vibrations though. Wake him up and overstimulate him every time! Until next time...keep up the prayers!

A week at home

Ethan has been home for a week now and he is doing beautifully. he has seen his pediatrician, Dr. Fidone twice for weight checks and he has made the trip back down to Houson to see his cardiologist, Dr. Altman once. Last Thursday he had an EKG and chest xrays to check for any progress of heart failure symptoms. So far so good. There has been no change. He was places on a Holter monitor for 24 hours and we should get the results from that on Thursday when we go back to Houston for another EKG, xrays (maybe) and an Echocardiogram to check for progress. He is up to 7lbs 6 oz as of yesterday morning. We are truly blessed! I'll try to keep it updated better since we have aclimated to being at home a little better now. Elise has Little Drillteam camp this week and Craig starts preschool next week (on Wednesday).