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! 

Love this time of year!

Today is one of the greatest days of the year....SNOW DAY! You read correctly. Today is a snow day. Today is one of the greatest perks to being a teacher. I'd be lying if I wasn't just as, or more excited than my students at the possibility of today being a snow day. I am spending today hanging with my two favorite people in the whole world, boxing up our stuff, and searching for the lost ipad :( 

Our big move into our new house is next Saturday! We close on the house Monday. Monday night, you'll find us painting our house. We will not be wasting any time between closing and moving day. So if you find yourself free on Saturday, December 14 and want to do some heavy lifting, let me know. We would love the extra help :) 

We've done lots of shopping for the house for necessities. Ted seems to think this one is a necessity. What do you think? 

Jackson is 9 months old!!! It is absolutely crazy how fast this year has gone. I felt like the first several weeks of his life were the longest weeks of my life. And now here I am, 9 months later. Crazy!! It definitely feels surreal. It feels like it was a dream or someone else was going through it. Anyway, he's 9 months old and on the move! He's crawling (not army crawling) all over the place!! One minute he's in the living room. The next minute, he's stuck in between chairs under the dining room table. He also has two bottom teeth that have popped through. He got teeth much earlier than Lucy. Her teeth did not come in until 11 months. His arrived a few months earlier. 

We spent our Thanksgiving in Athens with my family. We had so much fun! We ate, and played, and ate, and played some more, and shopped, and ate even more. It was more about the quality time with family than anything else. This year has taught us how very precious life is and how very important your loved ones are. We are not taking any of that granted. We are very thankful!! 

Addie, Lucy, & Gaga made a Thanksgiving wreath 

We finally have a kids table for Thanksgiving dinner :) 

Lucy with Aunt Teri and her cousin Quinnie...and of course 

Phil in the background photo-bombing

Addie and Jackson playing

Lucy and Quinnie, with a little photo-bombing Jackson in the background. 

I'm starting to think my family loves doing this :) 

On the way home from Athens, we met my family in Columbus at the zoo for Wild Lights. They were really good. The kids were all bundled up looking at Christmas lights and the animals. Lucy cried on the way out because she wanted to see "more animals". Maybe crying is an understatement. Ok. She screamed all the way out for "MORE ANIMALS!!!" 

Group shot

Hard to believe that Christmas will be here in a few short weeks. I hope you've got all/most of your shopping done. We're trying to get ours finished before we move. Not quite sure that's going to happen. 2013 will come to a close and we'll welcome 2014 with open arms! 

We wish you the Merriest Christmas 

and the Happiest New Year!! 

Lots of Love, 

Ted, Amanda, Lucy, & Jackson Schwieterman