Connor home for 2 months!

Month one picture

Month two picture

New Pj Picture

Hi everyone,
Today marks 2 months that Connor has been home from the NICU!!! It of course also means that I took new pictures to show the change since the last month. This time around I also had to introduce new pj's to take the future pictures in because Connor has outgrown the original ones, I have to cram him into them so it was time to move on. I have also put the past months's pictures on Picture Trail so you can all see them there too. Some of them are just bad shots in general but they are pics nonetheless of our past month so they are included.

Connor had another OT appointment today and he is doing wlel with his therapy. He seems to actually enjoy it for the most part. He is still working on rolling over and pushing up but getting better at both. Connor's latest trick is standing with the help of anyone willing. He seems to pray on unsuspecting friends and family who think he is just so cute and then they get stuck holding him in a standing position for as long as Connor wants. Its exciting but your arms do get tired after awhile!.

Yesterday Connor got to try apple juice for the first time. Very diluted but juice. He LOVED it. The jusice is to help him with the pooping situation since now he likes rice in most of his bottles. He is showing us what he likes and doesn't like. I am not sure when the spoon will be introduced, maybe next month. That will be HUGE for us. I already put an empty spoon in Connor's mouth just so he can see how it feels, hopefully when there is something tasty on it he will like it even more!

Connor and I are hoping ot make a trip up to Canada soon. Brian will be staying behind, he is working nights so sleeping during the day is a priority right now. Plus with me off work still it will be nice to get up there for a bit. Brian is due to go away for a few weeks in November so I will be in canada quite a bit then as well.

Love to you all,
Ali

Smiles

Connor smiles at us now!! When we go in to his room to get him in the morning we are greeted with a nice gummy grin and even when he gets his diapers changed he smiles at us. It is so cool to see him giving us smiles throughout the day now rather than just catching one here and there. I like to think he is strating to recognoze certain people and that is why he smiles so much when they are around. Its so cool.

Today we went to Seattle to see the dermatologist anout the red marks on Connor. He has had these marks since birth and they are called hemangiomas (spelling wrong I am sure). Anywyas the derm doc said that she is very happy to see that they are starting to break down on thier own, which is awesome. Now we just need to get the one on his liver checked again. Hopefully that one is looking beter or gone as well. Connor also had blood work done today and although he cried terribly during it he recovered quickly and even gave the required pee sample right on time! What a champ!

Connor also weighed in today (fully dressed) at 11.2 pounds!!! We have a dr appointment on Monday with his peds doc and so we will have a weight then as well. I also bought a scale and so now I can start having weekly weights for Mr. Connor. WOO HOO!

Take care everyone,
Ali

5 months

Connor is officially 5 monthd old. I for one cannot believe it. He is doing so great. If someone told me even a month ago that Connor would be off O2, smiling at Mommy and Daddy everyday, and getting as big as he has I never would have believed it. God is good.

To celebrate Connor's 5 month he and I went to the church for Wednesday night supper and stayed for the worship service they have afterwards. We had a great time and Connor seemed to like the music.

Today I also tried Connor watching a video. He LOVED it. We watched "Praise Baby" it is a dvd with kids and shapes and colors and they sing praise songs. Connor liked the color changes the most it seemed and so I think we will try watching it again tomorrow. It is only 30 minutes and it is all the TV Connor gets so I don't feel too bad. We have ordered the "Baby Enstien (sp) videos too and I am hoping Connor likes those too. Good thing I don't mind these videos because Daddy can't stand them. :)

All in all today was yet another wonderful day with Connor. He is without a doubt the most wonderful baby around. Brian and i adore him and look forward to each and every day with him. Thank you to all of you who have been praying and walking with us, you helped make these days so wonderful for us and we love you for it.

Blessings,
Ali

Pictures

hey here are some shots of Connor from today

Baptism

Hello everyone,
Today will go down as one of the many exciting days in Connor's life. Connor was baptised today at First Reformed Church here in oak Harbor. It was a wonderful day. Connor came to both services with Brian and I and he was his usual happy self. Pastor Jon claimed the following passage for Connor "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go to the heavens you are there; if I make my bed in the depths you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there you hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." This is from Psalm 139. I had claimed Pslam 139 13-16 for Connor while we were trying to stay pregnant. All in all today was a glorious day.

We had some people back at our house after the service and it was wonderful for so many people to get to spend some quality time with Connor and get in some cuddles. Connor of course loved all the attention.

Here are some pictures from Connor's big day.

Love to you all,
Ali

Therapy Evaluation

Hi everyone,
Connor had his therapy evaluation this afternoon here at the house. Connor is doing some things at a newborn level and some things at a higher level. Then there are other things that he just doesn't do period. So Connor will be starting weekly therapy to help him with his reflexs and other motor skills. His gross motor skills are great so that is a relief to all of us.

Yesterday Connor met his cousins Lauren and Colin and Char, Sean and Kris. Auntie Di and Uncle Mike were down for a visit too. Connor had such a great time with all of them that he slept through the night for mommy! WOO HOO!! Bed at 9 and up at 530 feed and then back to bed until 930. Not too shabby. Maybe all these folks should move down here for a bit!

Auntie Cootchie was down for 2 days as well and Connor had a blast with her. Courts is now off to Vegas for some R&R with a group of friends.

Daddy will be home mid week we hope now. The task they went down for is complete but the tickets for coming home cannot be changed so poor daddy has some time down south.

We are off to the church baby shower tomorrow night. I hope to have some pictures. In the mean time here are a couple of Connor for you all.

Love,
Ali

Double digits!

Guess who is inthe double digits now??? Connor is!!!!

Connor weighed in yesterday at 10 pounds. Now it was not an "official" weight but I had a witness and so I feel it is safe to post the result. Mom bought a new scale while she was down here with Connor and I (it is a digital one) and so I stood on the scale alone first and got my wieght, then I stood on the scale with Connor and we weighed 10.5 pounds more than I did alone. There fore I say Connor is 10 pounds. I am ditching the half pound because he had a onesie on and I am leaving room for error :) I am just so excited that he is 10 pounds. he has an "official" weight coming up on the 26th of this month so we shall see what that one has to say. Connor is still eating well. He is taking between 18 and 20 ounces a day which is perfect for him, it won't be long before he is taking more than that!

In other news I have decided to go back to work. I won't be going back until the end of november beginning of December and it is just 4 days a week. I am going to be off on Mondays so that I can still have my own dr appts, I can take Connor to his and hopefully have his physical therapy on mondays too. Connor will be 4 months adjusted age and 8 months actual when I go back and so Brian and I felt it would be a good idea. Connor will be staying with Judy Carr and her daughter Mary while I am at work. The Carr family goes to our church and they are who looked after Maverick until Mom and Dad could take him and they are really great friends of ours.

The house still has not had any bites on it. Apparently the market is slow. No biggie to Brian and I we are happy to get to stay for as long as we can. With me going back to work if we don't sell then staying here will not be an issue. That was the plan before Connor arrived so early anyways. Brian has done a wonderful job in the yard, the grass is coming in really great and the whole front looks like a different house! He had a few guys from work helping him out and they made the job go so much faster for Brian. Now I get to water it. Sometimes i feel like a bit of a dork out there watering my lawn twice a day but its all good, I will soon have wonderul grass that Brian can mow! If the house does not sell by January then we will begin to think about painting the inside and doing some more things and just staying put.

Brian is still in San Diego. The hope is that he will be home early this week but as usual he cannot promise anything. The weather has been good down there for them and they have made good progress on the job down there.

On Tuesday night there is going to be a shower at the church for Connor and I. It is going to be really exciting. Our shower had be scheduled for May but I went into labor instead and so everything was postponed. Now that we are all home and somewhat settled the ladies have decided it is time for a shower. It will be great. I will post pictures afterwards.

Love to you all,

Ali

Happy One Month Birthday Connor!

Hi there,
Today Connor is one month corrected age. I know it is so confusing with the two sets of ages (try being one of his parents!) but this is how it works. Connor's ACTUAL age is 4 months and 12 days but he is ADJUSTED to 1 month because he was due Aug 1. So we are supposed to base things motor skill wise off of Connor's ADJUSTED age so smiling, crawling rolling over ect will be based on the Aug 1 date and I believe his weight is done off that age as well. His shots, and medical stuff goes off of the ACTUAL age. Whew, hopefully that is clear to everyone now....

So for Connor's month birthday he ate, slept, ate some more, and graced Daddy and I will a HUGE poop!. Praise the poop. This one was so bad though that Connor puked while the diaper was being changed and so into the bath tub he went. Too much information perhaps but when I don't provide enough I hear about it! All in all it has been another wonderful day and now we can tell people when they ask how old Connor is ADJUSTED and they will believe us, kind of hard to convince someone your baby is 4 months when he is only 9 pounds. You could go into the whole story but that just takes so long...

Connor's results came back form Children's today and his xray looked better than when in the NICU so the doctors were very happy about that and all his blood levels came back good and the doctors were encouraged by it. They feel it is timne to try without the oxygen. We are going to have Connor go 2 weeks without the 02 during the day before we try him at night at all. He has to go 14 consecutive days with good saturation levels in order to not have to check him during the day and then he will have to do the same at night before we can stop that one too. So still about a month with some oxygen but it is a starting point. Please pray that Connor is ready for this and can manage to say good bye to the O2 for good.

Love to you all,
Ali