Grady on the living room floor (this is one the photographer from Cleveland took).

Colby helped decorate his volcano cake.

Colby and his friends at his party.

Colby & Grady taking a bath together. Grady loved it.

I can't believe it's been over a month since I last blogged! Just remember that no news is good news! Grady has been doing really well - not even an ear infection lately! He continues with his physical therapy once a week & he is making progress each week. He can sit by himself & he is just starting to do a little bit of an army crawl. He has 2 teeth and he has started sleeping thru the night (for the most part - he still wakes up every now & then). So all in all things are going great!

Grady is going to be featured in a magazine called "Pediatric Perspectives". It is a medical magazine that goes out to doctors in the Cleveland area. We had a photographer come down to our house to do a little photo shoot. It was really neat.

Colby turned 5 in July. He had his first "friends" birthday party. It was a lot of fun. We made a volcano cake. He is excited to start school in the fall.

Grady enjoying the pool.

Colby at the beach.

We had a awesome time on vacation, but now it's back to reality! We came home Sunday evening around 6:00. Tuesday Grady started tugging on his ear again & not eating well, so I took him to his pediatrician on Wednesday to have her check for an ear infection. There was so much wax in his ear that she couldn't see, so she sent me to an ENT (Ear, Nose, Throat). They used some type of device to clean the wax out - I had to hold Grady against me while 2 other nurses helped hold him down. Needless to say, he was very mad by the time we were done - he is definitely a fighter! The ENT said that his ear doesn't look bright red but that there is definitely fluid there, so they started him on antibiotics again as a short term solution but said that most likely we will have to put tubes in his ears. This is the 3rd ear infection he has had since we got home on January 31. Also, they said that even though it is a very simple procedure it will have to be done in Cleveland because of his history.

Today I took Grady for his first therapy session. He really seemed to like it. It is nice to have someone work with him & tell me what we can be doing with him at home. He does have a little catching up to do, but not much considering all he's been thru.

Colby has been at Bible School this week. He is really enjoying it. I have had to rely on some of my friends to get him there & pick him up when I've been at appointments with Grady. We are so blessed to have such good friends, family & community to support us throughout all of this! Thanks so much!

I almost forgot - Grady is up to 14 lbs. 2 oz. He is gaining, but very slow.

Grady is upset about being in his swing.

This is our dog Molly right after her haircut.

Colby gave himself a "fat belly" in the sandbox.

Colby & Reece playing in the sandbox.

Reece said "Colby put the sand in his shirt all by himself - I just watched."

I think he was afraid of getting in trouble.

This has been a crazy week - we are getting ready to go to Myrtle Beach! Both of my sisters & their families as well as Jolie & Roy had planned this trip last summer when I was pregnant before we even knew about Grady's heart defect. We kept the reservations - with everything we've been thru this year, we could really use a vacation!

Tuesday we had Grady evaluated for physical therapy. His adjusted age is 6 1/2 months & the therapists feel that he is doing everything a 5 month old baby would do & some of the things a 6 month old would do (which is very good considering he spent over 4 months in the hospital). They did recommend some Physical & Occupational Therapy and are just going to keep an eye on his Speech & Language Development. He will probably be going in for therapy either once a week or every other week. His first session will be the week we get back from vacation.

Grady is still not sleeping thru the night consistently. Every now & then he will sleep from midnight until 5 or 6 am but it is unusual. He usually gets up around 3 for a bottle, but then goes right back to sleep. He is also very demanding right now. He can be playing in his exersaucer but as soon as we leave the room he starts crying. He is definitely a little spoiled!

I better get back to packing. You can not even begin to imagine how much stuff we have to take along (pack n play, exersaucer, stroller, golf clubs, food, meds, medical records, etc.). Hopefully everything will fit in the van!

Grady in recovery after the biopsy.

Hello everyone - I don't have a whole lot of time to blog, but I just wanted to let you know that the results of the biopsy yesterday were ZERO rejection! It was a very long day, but Grady did great. I was exhausted when we got home! The dietician changed the recipie for his formula a little to add a few more calories. She also gave some suggestions with his feedings to hopefully get him to sleep thru the night. I will let you know how it goes.

Playing in our room at RMH.

Playing with Jolie.

We made it up to Ronald McDonald House this evening at about 6:15. Grady has a biopsy tomorrow morning at 6:30. We should get the results around 5:00 pm. I am really hoping Grady does well thru the night. He is not supposed to have any formula after midnight. He can have Pedialyte up to two hours before the procedure but he doesn't really like it. Pray that the procedure goes well and that there is no rejection.

I was surprised to see a familiar face when we walked into the dining room at RMH. Maribel & Mateo are back - they were here when we first got here in September & I think they left in December sometime. They will be here for a month. Also, we had a very nice dinner - soup & salad - I couldn't beleive it! I mean for the 4 1/2 months I was here we might have had soup & salad three or four times total!

Jolie came up with me again - she is such a lifesaver. I honestly don't know how I would manage Grady, luggage, meds, cleaning our room after we leave, etc. without her. She is awesome!

I almost forgot to mention, when we went back to the pediatrician see if Grady's ear infection was gone, they checked his weight & it was the same as the week before. He is still very small for his age so we are supposed to try to talk to the dietician up here & see if she has any suggestions.

Well - I need to get going. We still have some settling in to do and we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.

Happy Mother's Day!

Me & the boys on Mother's Day.

Last week was pretty crazy. Ken & I were both sick (some type of 24 hr. bug), I was trying to get ready for a garage sale and by Thursday evening we noticed that Grady was not himself. He was not eating well, was tugging on his ear & just fussy in general. I was pretty sure he had another ear infection so Friday (right in the middle of my sale) I took him to his pediatrician & she confirmed it. He has a double ear infection & is on an antibiotic for it. Fortunately, I had a lot of help from my mom & Jolie last week & survived everyone being sick & the sale.

Ken and I went to a wedding Friday night while my mom stayed with the boys. We had such a good time being out together without kids! We felt guilty for how long we stayed, but we were having so much fun catching up with everyone and not worrying about meds or feedings. We definitely need to make a point of going out together more often!

We were able to go to church today (Mother's Day). It was great to be back again - I had missed a couple of Sunday's while I was in Oklahoma. We went out for lunch and now I am planning on taking a nap while Ken watches the boys! I can hear my bed calling me - gotta go!

Grady and Aunt Leah

Colby with all of his cousins from Oklahoma.

Colby saying goodbye to Uncle Wes.

Grady in his exersaucer for the first time.

He loves it even though he can barely reach the floor.

Well, we made it back from Oklahoma. Our flight came in Saturday at 10:00 pm. The boys did great. I was very disappointed with the airline, though. I had taken our new stroller (I know - dumb move) and it was checked in plane side and somehow they managed to twist the frame so that one of the front wheels doesn't even touch the floor anymore. I was very frustrated and did file a claim so now I am waiting to see if they will do anything about it. The stroller was a gift we got at the Cleveland Clinic for Christmas. It is one of those car seat stroller combos. Fortunately, I still have our old stroller - I'm just mad at myself for not thinking to take the old one in the first place! Oh well - I guess it is a lesson learned.

Tuesday I had a meeting with a lady from Help Me Grow. It is thru this program that Grady might be able to get some therapy if they feel he needs it. He is almost 8 months old now but his adjusted age is 6 months. He is doing a lot of the things a 6 month old would do, but not everything. He will get evaluated on May 27. He will also have another biopsy in Cleveland on May 19.

It seems as though we have a little bug going around our house this week. Colby threw up on Monday, I got sick yesterday & now Ken is home sick today. The only good thing about it is it doesn't seem to last very long. Hopefully, Grady won't come down with it.