Sunday, September 22, 2013

Thank You!




THANK YOU...from the bottom of my heart, thank you! 

Yesterday was such a fabulous day! It was the Congenital Heart Walk. You showed up in the cool temps, drizzly conditions, and walked for Jack's Pack. It was amazing. I teared up a few (or several) times. I was so amazed at all the support we've received throughout this journey. I set a goal in June to raise $250 for the walk. I also had a goal of getting 10 members to walk for Jack's Pack. I am proud to announce that we not only met our goal, we exceeded it! By a lot!! In the end, Jack's Pack raised $650 and recruited 16 members!! 

The Congenital Heart Walk in Greater Cincinnati raised a whopping $27,347.00! We are so proud to be part of this group. 

Thank you so much for all your support, donations, kind words, and your walking. All of this means the world to our family!! 

Here are some pictures from our fabulous day!  


And we're off! 



Jackson and me with our friends, Brooke and Tyson.Cutie-pie Tyson is also a CHD baby.  


Schwieterman Family :)


Jackson's uncle Charlie and cousin Addison. 


An adorable Jack's Pack supporter. 


Stare down time...


Ricky & Lucy :)


My favorite picture from the day...


THANK YOU!! 



Thursday, September 5, 2013

Lots of changes!

Today finds us celebrating Jackson's 6 month birthday. I really am amazed at how fast these past 6 months have gone. 



This week found me starting back to school. I have been off work since the end of February, before my little "big" man arrived. As I walked into my classroom on Tuesday, I was flooded with memories of arriving back to school after finding out about Jackson's heart defect. I teared up recalling how much he was going to have to go through upon being born. I was so nervous, scared, anxious, and I wanted time to stop. I was not looking forward to him being born. He had so much up against him. However, they were happy tears :) They were happy tears because we are on the other side of this thing. Jackson is doing wonderfully and growing like a weed! He continues to fly off the charts for everything! He is doing better than we ever expected. My mom told me that one day I would look back at all this and I would smile because we survived it. My mom was right (don't tell her I said that).

Jackson saw his cardiologist in August and got a good report. He still has his soft murmur. He also has a leaky valve. The doctors assured us that it's nothing to get excited about. It could go away, it could stay the same, or it could get worse. The bad news is that he could be put on medicine (way down the road) to reduce or fix the leakiness or worst case, he could need surgery (waaaaay down the road) to fix it. The good news is that they're going to watch it closely. They will know if it goes away, starts to get worse, or stays the same. They're on top of it! 

This past month has brought about a lot of changes. Not only did I go back to work, but we moved. We decided to rent our condo(since we couldn't sell it) and find a bigger house for our family. Four people in a two-bedroom condo just wasn't making much sense, not to mention the 3-flight climb with a toddler and a big infant! We are temporarily living with Ted's parents until our next step is determined. 

Jackson had his circumcision. It was an outpatient procedure at Children's. They did put him completely under for the procedure. This scared me quite a bit. It would be the first time he was put under since his major surgery. By the time we were settled in the waiting room at Children's, the surgery was over, and he was headed to recovery. The surgery went very well. The biggest drawback to him having the procedure at 5 months old is his activity is limited. He's a very active infant, and he can't be as active as he's used to. His activity is limited to two weeks. Tomorrow is the two week mark. We are very much looking forward to him returning to his normal activity. 

Let's summarize our crazy, change-filled month: Jackson was circumcised, Lucy was potty-trained, Jackson started cereal, mom went back to work, and we moved! It's been one hectic month! Hoping the next few months find us slowing down a bit. 

I am so looking forward to beginning the holiday season with Jackson. This crazy momma is obsessed with Halloween! I actually bought Lucy's Halloween costume last year in July :) So naturally, I've already started planning Jackson's. You'll have to stay tuned to see what he will be! 

Happy back to school everyone! 

Here are some adventures from the past month. 

Jackson on the day of his circumcision. He was such a happy boy! I really felt bad about what was coming :( 


Enjoying his first taste of cereal. 


My little All Star learned how to start spitting and seriously drooling. Me thinks some teeth are coming! 


P.S. The Congenital Heart Walk is coming up in 2 weeks!! Jack's Pack is super excited to represent in the walk. It's not too late to register to walk and/or donate. Check out the link here for the Heart Walk. Hope to see everyone there! Jack's Pack was featured on Facebook on the official Congenital Heart Walk Page. Here's a picture of their first Team Tuesday.