Mended Hearts at the Capitol

Today was our Mended Little Hearts annual trip to the Capitol to meet with the governor. Every year during this week, Governor Henry signs a proclamation declaring this to be the official Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week in Oklahoma. Although we only get a minute of his time, the kids really enjoy shaking hands and having their picture taken with the governor. Clayton and I went last year and were able to meet some really nice families, so I wanted to make sure we went again this year.

A few of the kids with one of the pediatric cardiologists waiting for Governor Henry. All these children have had at least one open heart surgery. The older girl and the little girl in the pink dress both have HLHS, like Clayton.

Clayton and Mama

Very tired kiddos after the proclamation signing

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! We've had a really fun day. Ryan got donuts for breakfast, a rare treat around here, and they were yummy. Clayton agreed. I think he ate at least two whole donuts by himself. Jennifer, my college roommate, and Terry, her husband, were able to come up and spend the afternoon with us. We had a really nice visit and were able to make it over to our new Freebirds in Norman to have some College Station style burritos, just like old times. Freebirds is officially Clayton's favorite restaurant, as it is decorated with Clayton's two great loves in life, guitars and motorcycles. Jennifer, I've missed you so much and am so glad we live so much closer to you now.

This evening we stayed home. I planned a later dinner for Ryan and myself when hopefully Clayton would be off playing in his room. No such luck. Both boys insisted on joining us at the dinner table, but it worked out just fine, and we had a good time all being together in the candle light with a nice meal before us.

After dinner both boys were in my lap, and we took a few shots that capture our Valentine's love for each other. I feel completely blessed to be Wife to Ryan and Mom to these sweet boys.

On a different note, Valentine's Day is officially Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day. Just over 1 in 100 children are born with CHDs in this country. We are so grateful for the doctors that pioneer the amazing surgeries that keep Clayton and children like him living. If Ryan or I were born with HLHS we would not have lived, as these surgeries were only developed in the early 80's, and they were not very successful until the mid 90's. True HLHS, like our boys have had, was 100% fatal. We are even more grateful for all the children that have paved this road before us. Treatment for our kids improves everyday, and if parents didn't make the tough decision to put their kids through these cutting edge procedures, we would not have Clayton today. Tonight I remember Colin, Maddie, Ellie, Kayla, Davin, Ethan, Lauren, Abigail, Wylan, and many others whose names I can't recall. They were all deeply loved and are all greatly missed. I hope the lessons learned with these children will improve the treatment course for other children with CHDs. Hug your kiddos tonight.

Chunky Monkey

There's good news on the eating front. Clayton seems to be doing much better with his appetite. He's also doing really well taking the cyproheptadine (appetite stimulant). He still gags a little, but he's managing to swallow it now. On most days he's eating three good meals. Sometimes he only eats two, but overall he's doing so much better than before. He's also been more willing to try some new foods at the dinner table. That hasn't happened in a long time. All this eating has been such a relief to me. I've been extremely stressed about it lately.

Clayton had speech therapy this morning. Of course he never says a word for his teacher, but he has been speaking more and more when she's not around. Speech has been a big obstacle for him, but it seems like things are looking up in that department too. I'm definitely proud of all his progress.

Out for a walk

Two months old!

Eli is two months old today. Two months ago we were hoping and praying for a healthy baby, and we are so blessed to have him today. It sounds cliche, but it feels like he's been here forever.

Eli's a pretty easy going fella. If he's fed, he's generally happy. He's doing well with his sleeping. He still naps a lot during the day, especially if we're out, which I have to admit is convenient. At night he's started going down by himself around 10:30pm. He wakes around 4am and eats, then wakes again around 8am to eat. It's not too bad.

We had Eli's two month check up this morning, and that went well, as expected. It's so unusual to not have a mountain of items to discuss. It's also unusual to answer "no" when they ask if he's on any medication. I actually had to think about that one today. He was 10lbs, 10oz and 22.5 inches. He got the customary two month shots and the new oral rotavirus vaccine, and then we were out of there.

We're loving this new little guy. He certainly has changed our family. Here are all our guys at two months.

We're Eatin Mor Chikin!

All that baby weight I've lost is about to make a reappearance. Today they opened a Chick-fil-A just down the road from our neighborhood. I don't think I've ever seen an establishment go up and open so quickly. For the last couple weeks there has been a banner with a count down till the opening. I marked my calendar for the big day. After Eli's doctor's appointment we headed over to check it out. I should have brought my camera because the Chick-fil-A cow was there, and Clayton loved him. I did take a couple pictures when we got home. Clayton has never been into ice cream or milkshakes, but he absolutely loved my milkshake today. I couldn't believe it. Clayton was way too focused on getting as much cookies and cream milkshake as he could, so he wasn't able to smile for the camera. Here are my attempts.
I am a big Chick-fil-A fan, but I'm apparently not as dedicated as all the people that were camping in the parking lot. Yes, when I drove by there last night at about 9pm, there were no less than 40 tents pitched in the parking lot. The low last night was supposed to be about 30 degrees, and when I got up this morning, the windchill was 24, so these are some dedicated fans. Apparently the first 100 people in line receive a free chicken sandwich meal once a week for an entire year. I knew there had to be some catch. Anyway, that's the big story around here.

Scalped!

When you tell the Air Force barber "short" they don't mess around! I've recently started taking Clayton to the base to get his hair cut. We're usually out there for something else, so it's convenient, the price is right, and they do a good job. We always have to take a number and wait. I can tell the barber that calls our number is usually nervous, but Clayton is always such a champ. He loves being buzzed. He sits still and makes faces in the mirror the whole time. This is probably a little shorter than I had intended, but it's cute, there won't be any bed head, and it will probably be all grown out in two weeks.