Transitioning from Baby to Boy

Our little Theo continues his transition from baby to boy.  It's pretty incredible to look back at old pictures and videos and see how much he has developed and progressed.  We're pretty proud of him.  

Once again, I have allowed too much time to lapse between updates.  Life never slows down, does it?  It feels like last week that I was writing an update, when it has been almost two months.  Long story short, Theo is making progress and doing great, but there is still more progress to be made.  Nick and I are still doing really well, too.  We added some new excitement to our lives recently; we closed on a lot in a nearby neighborhood, and will be building a home.  So, we have a lot on our minds right now!

How do you measure a year?

You know those moments; the ones that completely alter the direction of your life. They can be good or bad. Maybe it happened when you got engaged, or the time you found out a family member had died. You might have had one when you got into the college you wanted to attend, or the first time you ate an In-N-Out Burger.


For me with Natalie, the first of those moments was on an early date at an A's game. Natalie impressed me with her vast knowledge of baseball, and even noted that Jeremy Giambi was a proper leadoff hitter because, despite his lack of speed, he had an excellent on base percentage. In truth, his lack of speed will forever haunt me. (Slide Jeremy, slide.)


More recently, one year ago today in fact, Natalie and I had an experience that forever altered the course of our lives. It happened during our 20-week ultrasound, when we saw this...

Time Flies

Special boys and special bears have dressings!

I cannot believe that it is already mid-July.  Where has the time gone?  I apologize that I have been less than stellar at keeping the blog updated.  In our case, no news is usually good news!

Hello, cords!

We've had an excellent month (or more) since I last posted.  Theo is the happiest little guy, and I feel so lucky that he is my son.  I wouldn't trade him for the world.  He is still growing well, and has become a lot stronger in the last month.  He rolls over non-stop now; we can't keep him on his back, no matter how hard we try.  While that is a great sign about how he is developing his gross motor skills, it means that we get a few extra alarms during the night because he is not draining well on his dialysis, and it means that we wake up to find him with cords wrapped all around his body.  Nick may have a heart-attack from the stress of the cords one day soon.

An Update for May

Theo with his dad at Wild Dunes

Since I last wrote, life has been a bit crazy.  But crazy has been good.

Several things have not changed:

1) Theo still has the best dad in the world.
2) We still love Theo's nurses who come during the week.
3) Theo's been showered with love from lots of family visitors.
4) We continue to believe that Theo is an absolute miracle, and that God is working in his life.
5) He keeps growing like a champ, and is still exceeding our expectations in nearly every way.

A few things have changed:

1) As of a little over a week ago, Theo has now spent more days at home than he has in the hospital.  Hooray!
2) Theo rolled over (numerous times!) a few weeks ago.

Rolling over!  He hasn't figured out what to do once he is on his tummy

3) We had a lovely family vacation at Wild Dunes in Isles of Palms over Memorial Day, where Nick officiated a wedding for some friends.  (Talk about a beautiful bride and handsome groom!)  It was a spectacular weekend for us.

California Love... and then Surgery

First time meeting Anna! George, Carly, me, Anna, Hil and Theo

Life seems to be moving very fast these days.  It's hard to believe that it has been almost a full week since we were in California.  What a special trip for me!  Last weekend was the first time that my dad, my twin,  my younger sister, and my brothers-in-law had met Theo outside of the hospital.  I really enjoyed seeing them meet him as a little boy in the real world, and not just a patient.

Theo also met his California cousins for the first time.  He loved to snuggle with Anna (my beautiful, incredibly good 3-week old niece) and to watch George ("the Great," a very active two-year old).  We were able to capture all three on camera in what is one of the funniest, most awesome pictures I have ever seen.  (Seriously, it looks like Theo could body-slam Anna AND George.  What a chunk!)

Mid-month update

Nap time!

Currently, Theo is down for nap #2 of the day, Nick is volunteering at church,  the laundry is running, and the kitchen is clean, so I figured it was time to sit and write a quick update.

Life continues to be wonderful for our little family. But, the last few weeks have been a reminder for me that we are going to have some setbacks along the way.  I think that is par for the course.

March Madness

We love taking walks with Theo

March, in our house, was full of madness.  We love having Theo home.  Our life has been filled with non-stop excitement.

Let me tell you a little bit about Theo:
1) He has a smile that melts my heart.
2) He talks and talks and talks.
3) He loves to wiggle.
4) He is incredibly curious. If I try to hold him close to me, he will have none of it. He wants to be up on my shoulder, examining all that the world has to offer.
5) He has some amazing "dance-offs" with his dad.  For those of you unaccustomed to a dance-off, it involves Nick dancing like a crazy man while Theo quietly watches him.  As soon as Nick is done and points to Theo for his turn, Theo starts wiggling.  Both of the men in my life know how to shake it.

6) Theo loves watching Curious George.  He also loves golf.  Theo watched more of the golf tournament on Sunday than 99.9% of Americans.
7) You would be hard pressed to find a happier baby.
8) If Theo is fussing, he must be hungry.  Otherwise, he pretty much doesn't fuss.  We recently started rice cereal to help cope with the extra hunger.
9) He loves being outdoors.  Watching him look at the trees while we walk through the park is an incredible experience.