Thursday, August 26, 2010

Vacation And Stuff

Jimmie has a small stomach bug this week. He's had a lot of dirty diapers and has not eaten or slept well. Today though he seems to be feeling a bit better.

He is stuck at 16 lbs it seems. He was around 16 lb 12 oz a couple weeks ago and when Rachael weighed him the other day he was down to 16 lb 8 oz. Rachael is trying to be relaxed about it. He is thriving in many other ways so that is encouraging, but I know it's hard for her to have that constant niggling worry about his weight gain. It would just be really really nice for Jimmie to have some extra fat on his bones.

Jimmie did really well on vacation last week. He slept well and he ate like a horse!

He loves swimming in Table Rock Lake!



This is how Rachael covered up his G-tube site for swimming . . .

Jimmie learned how to "motor boat" with his mouth in the water. I have a very cute video of that. I'll post it as soon as I can figure out how to get it off the camera.

He loves riding in the boat. He fell asleep almost every day with the sun shining down and the wind blowing as they sped around the lake.





He also enjoyed watching mommy, daddy and Grandpa Rod water ski. And even Auntie Amber! Me and my husband and kiddos stayed with the Gravitts for 3 days at Table Rock Lake. We had a blast.

This is Rachael and I skiing. It was my first time which is why I'm hanging on for dear life while looking a little "knock kneed". I loved it though!
Justin skiing . . .


When it got too hot Jimmie and daddy would crash indoors and play video games.

And then back out for more skiing . . .

Rod, Rachael and Justin are a bit crazy if you ask me.

Here they are skiing a pyramid . . .




You think this is it? Oh no...
She's going to stand on their shoulders...

You think this is it? Oh no...
She's going to "one hand it" and wave at everyone gawking!
Yeah- um, I have no doubt in a few years that will be Jimmie. Justin was water skiing at age 5!

And then there is Grandpa Rod . . .


He had Justin speed up the boat . . . He kicked off his board and water skied BAREFOOT!


Yeah- crAAAAzy!!!

On their last trip to the lake a couple of months ago, Justin and Rachael took Jimmie to visit Dogwood Canyon . . .

It's a beautiful spot . . .





Jimmie loved wading in the cool water . . .



This time- Rod, Kathy, Rachael Justin and Jimmie took a day trip to Eureka Springs Arkansas. There is a "Big Cat Rescue" there.
Jimmie didn't take his eye off of that tiger. . .

Smart of him . . .


While my family was visiting we all went to Silver Dollar City! This is Jimmie's first ever park ride!



Look closely and you'll see Jimmie is waving just like momma!
This ride the wait in line was too long for Jimmie's tastes.
So he started out of sorts . . .

Yeah . . . by now- he was done with the frogs!
My kiddos loved it though! (-:

So Jimmie had a really great summer vacation! Now he's back to the grind. (-:

Today he had speech therapy and his therapist decided he should have a session every week now. He is really taking off cognitively and with his receptive speech, but not so much verbally. He is not gaining consistent intelligible words. So Rachael and his therapist decided it is time to buckle down and get a little more serious, expect a little more and work Jimmie a little harder. As of right now Jimmie is not following any pattern for any speech diagnosis. His therapist says he's a mystery. Hmm- this seems to be Jimmie's style! Over all though no one is seriously concerned.

As soon as I figure out the camera computer interface problem I'm having I'll post some totally cute videos of Jimmie!! He's so smart and cute and sweet and feisty...

I love him!!

Love,
Amber

P.S. Gideon graduated to Bi-Pap last week and as of yesterday to C-pap! He had his last dose of that steroid yesterday and they are praying he adjusts well without it and can stay off of the ventilator. He also had his first eye exam today I think... Keep praying! These are awesome improvements from where he was just a couple of weeks ago.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Home from Vacation

Justin, Rachael and Jimmie have been down at the lake for 10 days with Grandpa Rod and Grandma Kathy. We joined them there earlier this week. We had a great time!! More about that with video and pictures in the next few days. Jimmie is doing GREAT!!

Gideon is doing better! His mommy Reghan got to hold him for the first time yesterday! He is a few days over a month old. He still needs a lot of prayer, but the fact that he is stable enough to be held is very good news!

Love,
Amber

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Dear Jimmie- Happy 18th Month Birthday

Dear Jimmie,

Happy 18th Month Birthday!

This you right after you were born.


And this is you today!

Look at how you have grown next to your Rottweiler Puppy!


Look at how you've grown in your Father's hands!


Here is your special "Watch Me Grow Montage"!

You have gained 7 ounces this month in weight. You are 16 pounds & 13 ounces. You had a virus and lost a little weight so you went backwards before you slowly went forwards again.

You have gained 7/8 of an inch in height. You are 30 and 5/8 inches long!

Your head circumference is 18 inches.

You have 119 followers on your blog that's 2 more than last month.

Your "Faithfulness" Video Montage has been viewed 12,016 times. That's 623 times this month!

Your "Jimmie's Wonderful World" Montage has been viewed 908 times. And your "High Places" Video Montage has been viewed 573 times!

Your blog has been viewed 3,977 times this month for a total of 104,752 hits! You have a lot of very cool people who love to check on your progress Jimmie.

So you got a cold at the beginning of the month and it hung on for a couple of weeks. Right as this cold was making it's exit you started cutting your top canine teeth. You don't have your top two front teeth yet so you may end up with fangs for a bit. (-: Needless to say this month hasn't been a great one for your appetite. However you did not lose much at all with your illness- only a couple of ounces, which is great for you.

AND this is HUGE, your mommy quit tube feeding you 3 weeks ago!!!!

That's right Jimmie, you have been taking in all of your nutrition all on your own for the first time since August 16th 2009. You were admitted to Children's August 17th and that's when you first got your NG tube. So a few weeks shy of a year and you have stopped needing the tube! We are so very grateful. Your mommy and daddy have decided to leave the button in your tummy through this next cold and flu season as a precaution with a scheduled removal approximately next spring. We are so proud of you and all of your hard work with eating and drinking that has brought you this far. You are our superstar! Your mommy is amazing too. In my opinion she has been very smart in the way she's used your tube. Smart and "unconventional" which is sometimes a lonely thing to be, but your mommy has convictions about your health care and is an awesome advocate for you. She always errors on the side of, "No, Jimmie CAN do this!" She believes in you Jimmie and you always rise to the occasion.

You are climbing everywhere. In fact I got this picture in a text on my phone from your mommy. She lost track of you briefly the other day and this is where she found you...

You are constantly moving Jimmie. The pictures your mom took this month for this post are a bit blurry because you will not hold still and every time she brings out the camera you go after it!

You are waving bye bye now. You say "ball" it sounds like "duh". You say "Kitty" it sounds like "hit". You love playing with your cars and sitting in your rocking chair. You reach your arms up and say "momma" when you want to be held. You love the book "Brown Bear Brown Bear" and are very interested and focused on the names of each of the animals. You also are showing good language comprehension. When you get hurt your mommy asks you, "Where does it hurt Jimmie?" and you point to your owie.

Your mommy and I finally finished with our Ballet this month. Rigoletto was a beautiful ballet and a joy to produce. We are enjoying a nice summer break now.

We also reconnected with some dear friends from our past this month. Reghan had her first baby at 23 weeks 5 days July 23rd. Gideon was 1 lb 4 oz and is having a rough go of it. He had a really bad last couple of days, but has been more stable today. Praise God! I know all your prayer warriors will continue to lift little Gideon up.

Jimmie I got to babysit you last week while your mommy got her hair done. You are so much fun! You are feisty and have a mind of your own. You are also incredibly sweet and precious. I love you so much and I'm super excited that we get to spend 3 days with you at Tablerock Lake next week!! Jimmie, as we have been interceding for Gideon as he fights his battle in the NICU I am hit by many feelings and memories. Some are hard, but all are precious to me. I will never ever take your life for granted. I am grateful for your health every day.

You are beautiful Jimmie! We are blessed by you!

I'll love you forever,
Auntie Amber