Mr. Cool Dude is 6 Months Old Today!

Six months and one day ago I had just arrived at the hospital – having contractions about seven minutes apart and so incredibly scared.

The past six months have been an amazing journey with Daniel – one that I pray continues for at least 60 more years :D

There is nothing that can prepare you for the kind of love you feel towards your first child. At the end of the day I am exhausted and ready to just relax. But as soon as I put him to bed I miss him.

No teeth, he isn’t sitting up by himself, he isn’t crawling and really does not like to be on his tummy still! But he is smiling! And he can play “peek-a-boo” very well!

Since today was his six month birthday, we let him try a new baby food – green beans. No, I didn’t make them myself. I purchased them in a little container from the store. We’ll see over the next month or so if I decide to try to make his food myself…

When he started on the rice cereal he loved it – and still does. He can’t wait to eat it.

The green beans weren’t as big of a hit…

Thank you all for your support and prayers over the past months – we appreciate every one of you!

Good Health

Good health is not something to be taken for granted. All winter I was obsessed with washing my hands. I was determined not to get sick. The weather gets nice and I let my guard down and end up with the flu! I had a fever of more than 102 for four days! The most amazing thing happened though, or I guess I should say didn’t happen – Daniel did not get sick! I nursed him through my whole sickness, but he stayed healthy.

We had an appointment with the cardiologist today. Daniel was 14 lbs 6oz and 25 ½ inches long. He had an ECHO done of his heart and he squirmed through the whole thing. The doctor said that he still had high blood pressure in his lungs and some issues with a couple of valves, but overall Daniel is doing really well! We don’t have to go back to the cardiologist until after Daniel’s first birthday!

We made a friend while in the waiting room. His name was Joshua and he was 4 years old. Andy showed him Daniel’s scar and Joshua had one to match. His mom told us that they found out when Joshua was 3 years old that he had a heart murmur. Joshua had coarctation of the aorta – just like Daniel. Andy asked Joshua what his favorite sport was and he said, without hesitating, that had to ask Jesus when he gets to heaven (it was so cute!).

It was Aunt Sarah’s birthday today. We went out to Chili’s last night for dinner. It was a bit too late for Daniel. He is currently fighting sleep as I type this – letting him “cry it out” gets tougher as he learns how to scream! Yes, the cutest baby ever does cry and scream – right now he is doing both very well!

New Trick

How many of you can get your big toe in your mouth? I know it is a rite of passage for kids – when they can finally suck on their toes – but it is so stinking cute! I caught him in the act this morning, after I change a dirty diaper that had exploded all the way up his tummy – ewwwwwww.

He has been grabbing at his toes for a few weeks. Still hasn’t rolled over though. He is sleeping pretty well now too. Rice cereal is going very well – he gets most of it in his mouth!

This week he started that new cry – the “if I make this noise, someone will come and get me” cry. We’ve actually let him cry it out, and that seems to work pretty well. It is just tough not to run in there when you hear every little noise!

I took some pictures of his chest yesterday – I don’t have very many of them. As you can see, his scar is looking pretty good! However, his sternum healed a little funny – it sticks out at the bottom. This creates a sort of dent in his chest – makes him look like he has big pectoral muscles! The bottom half of his scar is almost invisible. The worst parts are at the top, near his chin and the place where his chest tube was. All this said, he is still SO CUTE!

5 Months Old

So much to tell you all!
Daniel is 5 months old as of last Sunday.

We decided that 5 months was the right time to start rice cereal. He has been grabbing at my spoon or fork while sitting on my lap during my meals. He loved it. Every night we have been giving him a little more. I think he likes to chew on the spoon as much as he likes the food.

He had a great weekend with Grandma Emmitt, and she took Hermione the kitty home to live with her! We decided it was time to try and find new homes for the kitty and Dolley – time to just have one doggie (Laura) at the house. We are still working on finding the right home for Dolley.

Daniel got a new hat this weekend and got to play video games for a few minutes with Daddy.

Daniel got all dressed up for the Tigers opening day and they went and lost – booo! :D He and Aunt Sarah had fun being goofy for the camera.

We are so grateful that Granny is able to watch Daniel when I am at work. We are very busy in our office, working on the National Association of Secretaries of State summer conference, which we will be hosting in Grand Rapids this July. You can visit our website for the conference: http://nass2008.blogspot.com/

You probably noticed that the site looks a bit different. I have been playing around with the layout and added a counter at the bottom. I knew a lot of people liked to check out the site, but I didn’t realize there were this many viewers!

I also opened up the comment section, so anyone can leave a comment now. Please let us know if you have any prayer requests!