Lake Time in Texas

It's Lake Time in Texas!

We took Field for a fun weekend at the lake with his cousins and had the best time.

First ride in the boat!  

Not loving the lifejacket...

Very serious Caroline riding in the back of the boat all by herself.  

Mama Sedlak and Ellie

Cool cousins

Father/Son time.  Love it!

Playing in the grass.

Hmmm...trying to get a nice picture of the cousins and this is what Caroline does.  Ha!

The best one I could get of the 3 of them!

We can't wait to spend more time at the lake...

9 months ALREADY?!

I cannot believe that our little guy is 9 months old.  I am trying to avoid the typical "time flies" comment that parents make, but it is so true.  Time goes way too quickly and I really am trying to praise God for every day I get to be Field's mommy.  He is the apple of my eye and I am so proud of him.

9 months old and as active as ever.

I have to admit.  I am really not a fan of the milestone reporting.  Solely because it stresses me out and I believe that all babies are on their own timeline.  But I do have to say very quickly how very proud I am of my little man.  He has been through SO much in his 9 months of life and he continues to thrive.  Field is very close to crawling.  He will do whatever it takes to get the toy he wants.  He will scoot, slide across on his belly, side scoot, backwards crawl...whatever it takes!  It is not uncommon to find his barnyard toy (which is quite large) sideways laying halfway on top of him, along with his music table toppled over, and his basket of toys all over him as he reaches for the toy he wants.  Really, sometimes I worry (as if I don't have enough to worry me) about his high energy level.  He never stops moving!

Field is such a playful one these days.  One of our old "tricks" to get Field to sleep was to spin him around the room - I know seems weird, but it always soothed him and made him close his eyes.  Well, that "trick" is NO more.  In just the last week, we'd spin him to get him to sleep and he would just giggle, laugh, and squeal.  Almost as if he was saying, "Wheeeeeeee!"  Guess we need to find a new method.  Ha!

We went to dinner last week at a restaurant and sat on the patio.  Field has sat in an actual high chair at restaurants very FEW times but we decided to try it out.  We fed him his dinner at the table - he ate an Ella's organic "Green One" pouch, some cheerios, and some yogurt puffs.  There was a table of ladies behind us chit chatting away.  Field was so into their conversation.  He turned his little body around and stared at them the entire time.  It was quite hilarious.  Fortunately, I remembered to snap a photo.  :)

We want to especially extend our gratitude to Major Josh DuBois who has been overseas for 6 months serving our country in Afghaniston.  Josh is a neighbor of my sister and he has a beautiful wife, Holly, and 2 precious children (one of which is almost the exact same age as Field).  A few weeks ago there was a "Welcome Home" party for Josh that we were invited to and to our surprise, Josh presented Field with a gift.  On the day of Field's surgery back in January, Josh flew an American flag across Afghaniston in Field's honor.  Josh is a doctor, so he was transporting patients and he had a special flag en route with them.  He gave this special flag to Field to keep forever.  Josh is actually a pediatric anesthesiologist and trained on the cardiac team at Stanford so he is VERY familiar with Field's surgeries and he said he checked the blog every day overseas to make sure all was good with Field.  How awesome is Josh?!?  We are so glad he is back safely with his family and we look forward to hanging out with the DuBois fam soon.  Thank you, Josh, for a once in a lifetime keepsake for Field.  We will treasure it always.  And shame on me, I forgot to snap a picture of Field and Josh.  :(

The DuBois family on the day of Josh's homecoming.

Field and daddy at dinner with the DuBois family.  

Field and daddy were twins!

Glitz and Glam for a Good Cause

We had a wonderful time Saturday night at the American Heart Association's Heart Ball.  It was out at the new JW Marriott in San Antonio, which is absolutely amazing.  You can bet that Brad and I will be back to spend more time at this beautiful hotel!

Pictures from Michele Gordon 

As I said in the last post, we were chosen as the 2011 Heart Ball Passion Family, so we were able to share our story during the event.  My husband had the more difficult task of sharing what all we have been through these last 9 months and I finished it off by asking for those who are able, to donate to the AHA on not only our behalf, but the many families dealing with heart disease.  

Before the "speech," I was super nervous and Brad told me to remember that most people wouldn't be listening - they'd be eating, drinking, and chit chatting (what we all do best, right?).  Well, lo and behold, we got up and there and as soon as pictures of our precious Field were up on the screen the room was completely silent and ALL eyes and ears were on us.  

It was moving.  

I was proud.  

Proud of our story.  

Proud of our son, our hero.  

Proud of my husband for so eloquently sharing our journey.  

And proud of the faith we continue to have in our Lord as His plan for our life unfolds.  

We had a great time visiting with friends, family, and other heart supporters.  

Brad and I with the Wenders

Marty Wender was the chair of the event.  

Allison (my sister), Courtney, and me

The Williams and the The Johnsons

Girls and guys enjoying the night

Thank you to our family and friends for supporting us through this event.  It was most definitely a night to remember.    

Brad's parents, me and Brad, Brad's aunt and uncle

Brad and I with my sister and brother-in-law

And in case you are wondering, Field spent the night with my parents (BB and Poppy) and did great!  Slept through the night and in the words of my parents, "was an angel."  :)

Sharing Our Story

A few months ago, Team Field participated in the American Heart Association's Start! Heart Walk.  We had so much fun and we were blown away by all of our family and friends that came out to support us.  In fact, we had so many supporters of Team Field, that we won an award for raising the most money in the "community teams" category.  We give all of our gratitude to those who supported Team Field and all the glory to Him for making Team Field a success.

After the Heart Walk our local AHA chapter kept our family in mind and then just recently asked us to share our story at the American Heart Association's Heart Ball this coming Saturday night.  This is a night of glitz and glam, but more importantly, a night to raise awareness and funds for heart research.  We are honored and blessed to be this year's "Passion Family" for the American Heart Association.  We have a 5 minute speaking opportunity where Brad and I will share the story of our amazing son, Field.  We hope that our story will be both encouraging and inspiring and that those with the funds will feel led to donate to the American Heart Association to support all that they do for heart research.

To say we are a little nervous about speaking is a SLIGHT understatement - yikes!  But on the other hand, dressing up and enjoying a nice night out for a cause that is near and dear to our hearts is worth the tangled up nerves in our stomachs.  Gulp.

I'll keep you all posted on how it goes...

A Drink for a Great Cause

One of the greatest blessings of the blogging world is that I have connected with the most amazing women who are also traveling this heart journey with their own precious babies. I recently read a post by my friend Tiffanie who was linking back to a post by another friend Meagan.  (Did you follow that?)

You might remember that Tiffanie and I met when our boys had open heart surgery at the same time in Houston back in January.  She was a wonderful support at that time and has become a great friend.  Meagan and I connected back in the Fall through several different "friend of friend" connections and her daughter, Quinn, is just a few weeks older than Field.  Meagan has twins and has been SO helpful to me on feeding schedules/nap schedules/how to get your baby to gain weight. etc.  Meagan and I joke as we plan an arranged marriage for Field and Quinn. :)  Quinn will have her surgery in the coming months.  

Anyway, if you are still following me after all of that, Tiffanie and Meagan posted a link about a wine called Colby Red.  The story is amazing and I encourage you to check it out here.  What an amazing family and rock star kid.  

Sounds like the wine is delicious and the cause is even better.  

Walgreens...here I come.  I think Brad and I will drink to that.  Cheers!

8 month ramblings...

I can't believe our Fieldie is 8 months old! 

(He is actually 8months, 1week, I am a little late!)

Smiling for his last time to play in his bouncy seat.  

He has officially outgrown the bouncy seat after 

he has somehow managed to flip out of it twice - crazy boy!

So much has happened this month. 

I'm constantly amazed at Field's swift recovery post surgery and his ability to pick right back up developmentally.  What a rock star!

Sitting still for one sec...

The latest cardiology appointment was great and Field continues to surprise everyone with his rosy cheeks and "pink" coloring.  His heart and heart function look great.  His blood pressure is still a tad high, so we are still on medication to help control that, but otherwise our cardiologist is very pleased with Field. 

Still sitting still...

Speaking of medications - we are still on 5 medications.  Ugh.  4 of these meds are administered twice a day, so we give meds 9 times a day.  Field takes Prevacid for reflux, Lasix (a diuretic to keep fluid off his lungs), baby aspirin, atenolol (for blood pressure), and enalapril.  We are SO ready to drop a few of these meds and hoping and praying that we can discuss this at our next cardiology appointment. 

And he's done!  Trying to get out of the chair.

Field is rolling like crazy!  I have to be careful where I place him because he will roll as far as he has room. I laid him on a blanket in our bedroom as I got ready one morning and before I knew it, Field had rolled into the bathroom onto the tile floor.  Rolling seems to be his primary way of travel right now.  If he wants a toy out of reach, rest assured he will roll his way to get that toy.  Precious!

Field continues to grow and he's still our tall and skinny boy. At the pediatrician's office last week, we took a look at Field's growth chart again and he stays very close to that bottom line for weight. What can I say? The kid has more energy than I know what to do with (oddly enough considering his heart isn't totally efficient) and he just doesn't particularly enjoy sitting down to eat. He's one of those that you must take into a dark and quiet room to get him to finish a bottle. If he's out where the action is...forget it.  

Thank you, God, for Field's energy and spunk.  

We consider that a blessing! 

"Get me out of here!"

Now on to the eating.  When Field still had his cold, he starting doing this really weird thing whenever we put him in his highchair  for solids.  When we brought the bowl and spoon over to feed him he would gag and not even take one bite of solids.  Ugh!  So frustrating.  And even more frustrating was what came up when I googled it.  Note to self:  Google is NOT your friend.  Before taking him to the doctor, I had diagnosed Field with oral aversion and called our pediatrician for a check-up.  During our appointment, sweet Dr. McCray eased my concern by confirming that nothing is wrong with Field other than him trying to get over this little cold he had the past few weeks.  We decided that the mucous from the cold was sitting in Field's little tummy making him feel full and keeping him from wanting to eat anything.  His refusal to eat was his way of telling us "I don't want to eat,  I don't feel good!"  I am so thankful and relieved to say that Field is back to eating and he's doing very well with both solids and his bottles again.  That time was such a good lesson in learning to trust in the Lord and His hand over Field.  

Trying to stall him for more pictures by giving him a toy.  :)

On to sleep...ahhh...sleep.  It's getting better and better each week.  I feel like a new woman now that Field is sleeping so well.  

Teething!

I am sad to say that Daddy picked up the bug that was going around and was sick with fever for 3 days  There was no way we were going to allow Field to be around those germs so Brad stayed over at Nonnie and Granddaddy's for a few days.  We missed daddy so much and thank you SO much Nonnie and Granddaddy for taking such good care of our favorite guy (we know he's one of your favorite guys too!).  And let me just say how much I respect single parents.  I was only on my own for 3 days and I was exhausted.  Just goes to show how helpful my husband is and how much I rely on him.  It was hard managing all of the feedings, bath time, medications, night wakings, etc. all on my own.  

Last week, I was going a little stir crazy with Field so my sister and I switched kids and she played with Field and his cousin Ellie at their house for awhile while I took my niece, Caroline, to ballet.  I had the best time watching Caroline "dance" and was so proud of her for being such a great listener.  It was a riot watching these little ones roll around the floor in their pretty little ballet outfits.  Caroline was SO good and just continued to do exactly what she was told.  I'm such a proud aunt!

Ballerina Carolina

Field had fun with Aunt Al and cousin Ellie.  He had his first wagon ride and he loved the baby swing even more.  I discovered what a hovering mother I am as I never would have thought Field was ready for the wagon or the swing, but Aunt Al opened my eyes to some fun new activities for Field!  I am SO thankful for a sister that LOVES me and my child as one of her own. 

Field and Ellie in the wagon

Oh...and Field is talking.  He says, Mama, Dada, and Bababababababa.  Our little cutie pie is growing up!

Playing in mommy's laundry basket 

(The only way I could get him to stop rolling when I folded clothes - ha!)

Mr. Cool in his new swing

That's the latest update on us.  Thanks for checking in and hope everyone enjoyed their weekend 


and...


Happy 8 month birthday, sweet Field!!  

Shining Brightly

You might remember my post about my good friend, Denise's daughter Sarah a few weeks ago.  Denise is a very special friend of mine and her daughter Sarah battled a very aggressive cancer.  Sarah has left this earth to shine brightly from heaven.  I ask that you please lift up all those that love Sarah today - especially her husband, her mom, her dad, and her sister.

Sarah, you left a mark on this earth through your courage and faith.  You are always loved and may you soar through the heavens after being free from the bondage of cancer.

Feel free to read a beautiful post written by Sarah's husband at: http://www.sarahchidgey.blogspot.com/

When one's life is taken by cancer, most usually say they lost their battle.  I feel the opposite.  Sarah won her battle with cancer.  She is free from pain and suffering and is living eternal life with our precious Father.  That sounds like a win to me.

Let Sarah's beautiful life be a reminder to all of us to live, laugh, and love harder every single day.  For we never know what tomorrow might bring.