Birthday countdown! #2

"As soon as I saw you, I knew an adventure was about to happen." -Winnie the Pooh

Birthday countdown! #3

Church birthday celebration last Sunday!

Birthday countdown! #4

(Katie Dohman photography)

Love you, buddy

11 months

Jackson is 11 months old! Unreal. He is figuring out the whole "mobility" thing excellently. We are all racing to beat him to beads, crumbs, small toys, and his personal favorite chew toy...flip flops. So much for a germ free environment! He is doing a very effective army crawl right now, but has been working on maintaining his balance while on his knees. He's so close! He has two teeth, but is still very much teething. Maybe he'll be able to chew a birthday cupcake after all. ;)

He had a cardiology appointment Tuesday that went very well. He has not developed any further clotting or narrowing at his stent site, so he was able to stop his Lasix and Sodium. We are down to only two medications..antibiotics and aspirin! It feels wonderful. Thank you so much for praying for Jackson.

Bittersweet

Remember this post from last October? Below is a picture of Jackson from today! We are so grateful. Thank you, Sarah (and so many others!), for being absolutely fantastic nurses. Thank you for loving our buddy too--it made it so easy for us to entrust him to your care. We can't wait to bring him by for a visit sometime! You won't believe your eyes!

10 months

Our little buddy is changing every day lately! He's learning how to passionately express his displeasure (oh dear), but also learning how to better communicate his excitement and love...he's such a sweet little munch. He gets embarrassed and hides his face, claps when he's excited, and recently decided he loves his back rubbed while he's falling asleep. He also discovered recently that if he holds mommy's free hand during his back rub she can't escape as easily. Sneaky! He babbles all the time, but unfortunately has only learned one real word, "Dada". We have daily "mama" practice sessions but so far it just won't take. :)
We recently took Jackson to a highly recommended doctor for a second opinion regarding his long-term antibiotic use. Mason and I very much desire that Jackson could get off of these antibiotics as soon as is safely possible. We were praying for clear direction. The doctor didn't give us quite the report we were hoping for, but did give clear direction...he agrees with our other infectious disease doctor that Jackson needs to continue this medicine indefinitely. He said he will continue to consider the possibility of stopping it, but at this time feels it would be too risky.
Our cardiology appointment to reassess Jackson's stent status was postponed by the cardiologist being out of town, so Lord willing we will find out more about that in August. If that looks good he should be able to stop his Lasix at that time.
After a nearly eternal wait, there is evidence of a little tiny baby tooth about to make its debut. I hope a few more will follow quickly, because I can hardly buy enough baby food to fill that belly! We are loving the effects of J's enormous appetite...Charlie said the other day while we were driving somewhere, "Mommy, I want you to just think about these squishy baby knees." :) A very pleasant thought, indeed.
We are all so grateful for our pal. How is it possible one year is almost here?

Little friend

Jackson's sweet buddy Oliver is having a port implanted today to better manage his severe hemophilia. Would you pray for him and his family?

We love you, lil champ! We know you'll do great.

Unexpected blessings

When Jackson was born we couldn't help but fear that he would never live to see the summer. And even if he did survive, we expected his care and needs would prevent any long trips--at least for several years. But here we are...headed home from a wonderful week and a half vacation with Mason's family in Gulf Shores. Wow--overwhelming! All we can do is return and give thanks to God. That and enjoy every moment! Additionally, Mason's mom was scanned recently and was declared cancer free. We are overjoyed!

9 months

Jackson is nine months old! It doesn't seem possible. It seems possible that he was born nine months ago, yes. But it doesn't seem possible that nine months later he is still alive...and thriving. All praise to God!

Our little pal has made lots of progress over the past month. We were told that he might not ever be able to swallow, but now he gobbles down baby cereals and foods like they're going out of style. We were told he would most likely never walk or have control of his legs, but he's now rolling over, beginning to scoot, and jumping about 100 miles a day in his Jumperoo. He is an absolute joy. His smile is so contagious, and his little spirit so happy and easy to please. He is down to four medications now, and no longer has any medications that require us to wake him up in the night for a dose. If the stented area of his heart looks good in July, he should be able to stop two more of those medications. He is working right now on learning to sit up on his own. He's made SO much progress on strengthening his back and abdominal muscles since we've been home, but boy it's a lot of hard work for him! Our therapist also pointed out that his surgical scars (particularly the chest tube scars) have formed adhesions to the chest wall--preventing ease of movement/strengthening. We have been working to massage these loose and hopefully make progress a bit easier and more comfortable for him. Well, that's all for now. He is a daily joy. We are so blessed.