Summer days drifting away...

Summer days sure are drifting away. I can't believe summer is pretty much over. Where did it go? I go back to work in a few short days, and Lucy will start preschool very soon. 

This summer has been full of lots of adventures. We traveled to Athens a few times, went to the zoo, painted, played in sandboxes, played outside in the sunshine lots, visited with friends, went to several parks, had picnic's, etc. It's been so much fun! Here are some pictures from our adventures. 

Lucy's first Reds game. They won :)

Attempting to make Sophia's Magical Amulet Popsicles (Thanks Disney Jr.)

Happy Birthday Daddy! 

Picnic fun :)

Jackson loved playing on the tractor. Future farmer maybe....

Basketball was a little big for him. He had fun playing with it though. 

Fun at the zoo.

Trip home from the zoo. I think this was while we were still in the parking lot. 

He LOVED corn on the cob!

4th of July neighborhood parade. 

Playing in our little pool. 

All boy, covered in dirt and mud. 

Art time. 

Fun with our neighbor, Will. Jackson loves Will! 

First taste of Buskin cookies. They are in love! 

Today was Jackson's big cardiology appointment. He had a echo, an ekg, and saw Dr. Hirsch, his cardiologist. He was scheduled for sedation with this appointment. They didn't think he'd hold still long enough for an echo. They were right. The last time he was sedated was using oral drops. The recovery time for that was very long. It took 24 hours for that sedation to be completely out of his system. We were prepared for a very long day at the Schwieterman house. Fortunately for us, they had a different method in mind. He was given the mist. The benefit to this is its recovery time is 2 hours!! That would mean a pleasant day. Yes please! However, he ended up requiring 2 doses of this medication. He would not fall asleep with just 1 dose. So 2 it was. It was a ROUGH time trying to get him to fall asleep. By rough, I mean awful, terrible, horrible. Once he finally fell asleep, the echo went great and looked great. Same with the ekg. All is well with his heart. He still has leaky valves. Again, they've assured us that this is to be expected and MAY require intervention in decadeS! We were given explicit instructions to NOT focus on that because that is so many years away. Who knows things they'll come up with by then. We are to focus on how great he's doing now! Done. The difficult part is convincing Ted of that. He's very nervous for the future. I'll work on that. We'll repeat this process in 6 more months. 

He weighed in at a whopping 28 pounds 14 ounces and was about 33 inches long. Growing like a weed! Dr. Hirsch asked if Jackson was eating well. I laughed and asked him what he thought :) 

Jackson's speech has taken off. He is saying more words every single day. It amazes me the words he picks up. I guess I had forgotten that with Lucy. I regret not writing every single thing down with her. One would think I'd be writing everything with Jackson down too, but I'm not. His baby book is so far behind! One of my summer plans that I didn't get done, along with countless others. 

He did battle an ear infection this summer. Who gets an ear infection over the summer? Jackson does! I guess tubes are back on the table now :( 

The Congenital Heart Walk is coming up October 11. It is a cause that is very important to us. If you'd like to contribute to Jack's Pack, check out the link. If you'd like to join us for the walk, please do so! You'll even get an awesome Jack's Pack shirt. The walk takes place at Eden Park on Saturday, October 11. Please consider joining us. It's a great day for a great cause. 

Happy (almost) end of summer. Anxiously awaiting my favorite time of year, fall. 

Love, 
Ted, Amanda, Lucy, & Jackson 

1 year later...

Jackson's 1st birthday was March 5. I am a little behind on the blog. Please forgive me. 

His echo and ekg went very well! He still has leaky valves. The way they explained it to us was that it is a side effect from his operation. He will always have them. IF they become a problem, then they will fix them. This could require surgery. IF it gets to that point, it wouldn't be for decadeS down the road....IF it gets to that. He can live with them leaking and not have any issues with it. His cardiologist absolutely expected it. Everything else was good. 

Jackson under sedation. 

The sedation was difficult. He wasn't the most cooperative with sedation. I scheduled a routine follow-up hearing test after his echo, you know when he's still coming out of sedation. Not exactly a smart move on my part. It didn't go well. They said he still has fluid in his ears, and he was super cranky. We were referred to an ENT for the fluid in his ears. 

The ENT recommended tubes if the fluid didn't go away on its own. Good news-it did! No tubes for this boy....at least yet! 

He had his 1-year check-up with his pediatrician. He did great! Poor guy had to get 4 shots!!! He weighed in at 24 pounds and 30.25 inches tall. I scheduled Lucy for her 3-year check-up the same day. You know, the whole 2 birds one stone saying. Fortunately for her (and us), she didn't get any shots! 

Lucy turned 3 this past month. February and March are big months in our house. 

Jackson's 1st birthday was a big cause for celebration. It was a Dr. Seuss themed birthday party. He had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed his cake :) 

Monthly birthday banner

Pre-birthday party picture

Jackson also took his first (official) steps on his birthday. He walks like frankenstein at the moment. That'll change as he walks more and more. Super sweet though. Here's a video.

We ventured to Athens for some pre-Easter celebration. Cupcakes were decorated, eggs were colored, and of course hunted. A good time was had by all! 

We are currently working on the transition from formula to milk. He really hasn't shown much interest in the bottle lately. Hoping that works in my favor. 

He LOVES food!

I want to thank you, dear readers, from the bottom of my heart. I never imagined that so many people would want to read what I had to say and that so many people would care about my little (big) Jack. He is my little miracle that I cherish every day. This blog has been very theraputic for me. I thank you for reading it. 

Hard to believe this was one year ago. So many unknowns. What a difference a year makes! 

Thank you for following Jackson's Journey. This is just the beginning of his journey's. I so look forward to all that await us! 

Love,
Jackson & family 

Stomach bugs & snow days

Sickness has infected our household. I think Jackson is to blame. Ted called me Monday morning in a state of panic. Jackson had vomited all over his car seat and Ted's car. This was not good. Turns out he had a stomach bug. He has now passed that onto his sister. Lucy's was a lot worse than his was. Hers hit at midnight and continued until about 5am. Today's snow day couldn't have come at a better time. I'm really hoping we are on the other side of this thing and that Ted and I somehow avoid getting is. Wishful thinking?? 

He fell asleep on the floor, definitely not feeling well. I hate that he wasn't feeling well, but I absolutely loved all the snuggles he gave me! 

My big boy is 11 months old today. I feel like I say the same thing every month in this blog. I can't believe he's 11 months old already, feels like yesterday.....it was just about one year ago that we found out about his heart condition. My how time has flown. 

Taking these monthly photo's are growing more and more difficult with each month. Fortunately for Jackson, he only has one more to go :) 

Yes he is wearing his Christmas sleeper. I know that was a month and half ago. When one grows as fast as he is, he will get good use out of that sleeper. 

Jackson is babbling more and more everyday. He definitely says mom, dad, ball. We're working on others with him. He has all 4 of his front teeth. Those were fun nights :) We visited the Neurodevelopmental Clinic at Children's a few weeks ago. They said he was doing great! In terms of his gross and motor skills, he was testing about his age! Very good news for us. 

Next week brings his yearly echo, ekg, and cardiology visit. He is scheduled for sedation for his echo. They said that most infants his age will not cooperate with the echo. I must admit, I am pretty nervous about this appointment. I'm confident his heart is functioning great. However, there's that little part of me that worries. Let's face it. I am a worrier. I will always worry about his little heart. A friend shared this video on facebook about always being a heart mom (click the link below for the video). That is me. I will always be a heart mom, and I will always worry. 

I'll always be a Heart Mom

Here are some pictures from the past month...

I took Lucy to see her very first movie in a theater. We saw Frozen. If you haven't seen it, RUN to the theaters!!! A must-see!!!

He has gotten so big. He loves to sleep sideways in his crib. Cracks me up! 

Enjoying 1 of 7 snow days snuggled under a blank watching the ipad. 

Playing with grandma's tupperware. They had a blast. 

February is Heart Month. Celebrate heart month by wearing red! 

Happy (almost) Valentine's Day! 

Lessons...

Happy 10 month birthday little BIG Jack! At his 9 month checkup, he weighed in at 22 pounds and 12 ounces, 28.5 inches long, and was 90th percentile for most things. Doctor said he was doing great....minus the minor ear infection. Luckily, it was a a very minor one. We didn't even know he had one until that appointment. An antibiotic prescription and we were out the door. 

Take One

Let's try this again...much better

Lots has happened since his 9 month old post. On December 13, we moved into our new house!! We managed to get the essentials unpacked and our Christmas tree put up within a few days. If you look around our house today, you will still find boxes that need to be unpacked. Oh well. That will come....right? 

Christmas was great with the kids!!! We took them to see Santa. Lucy talked about seeing him for several days before we actually went. She told us everything she was going to ask him to get her. Then as we approached the man himself, someone got really scared and screamed! She did not want to go. Jackson flew solo with him. Next year :) 

My two favorite people 

Family selfie 

Lucy got a new car for Christmas

And so did Jackson

After Christmas in Cincinnati, we headed to Athens for a few days and more Christmases. My brother and my niece came in from Arizona for Christmas. Lucy adores my niece, Saelem. She follows her around and mimics her. If Saelem had her hair in pigtails, Lucy had to have it too. It was very cute and sweet. Lucy and Saelem stayed up late, watched movies, had ice cream (that's what you do in December, right?), and played. 

Addison and Jackson 

Jackson and Saelem

Christmas morning at Gaga's house

We've learned several things this past month...

• do not put Lucy and Jackson in the same room to sleep. Lucy will climb into his pack-n-play with him and sleeping will not take place (see picture below from video monitor)
• Jackson doesn't like plums. He will lock his lips and shake his head "NO" to avoid the spoon with plums going into his mouth.
• childproofing needs to happen very soon. Jackson will crawl into a cabinet in the kitchen to get the pans out to play with them. 
• Lucy thinks snow = Christmas. She has to be reminded daily that Christmas comes once a year and won't come for a long time. Santa is on vacation. 
• don't waste money on big, expensive toddler gifts. Lucy will play with Jackson's baby toys more than she will play with her toys. 
• if you teach a baby (Jackson) to make sounds with his mouth, he will do it while you're feeding him and you will be covered in his food too. 
• Jackson will pull himself up on everything, including your pants, which makes things interesting when your pants begin creeping down. 

As always, here are some pictures of our adventures in the last month. 

The monitor picture of Lucy in Jackson's pack-n-play

Jackson's new shoes 

Stay warm out there!