Father's Day

One of the best days ever: the day Jack was born. Seriously, his arrival was perfect, much anticipated labor was a breeze. I got to snuggle him and look at his sweet face, but just as good as that was watching Gordy become a father for the first time...

He is amazing with Jack. He is sweet and kind and he can always get Jack to laugh. Let me brag a bit here about Gordy because Gordy isn't the kind of dad that only does the fun stuff. He has changed every single diaper in the middle of the night since Jack was born (with the exception of maybe two). I mean how amazing is he!?! He is the definitely the most hands on dad I know. I am so grateful for all of his help with Jack. Gordy is one of the most hard working, most intelligent, and funniest people I know. He is an amazing provider. He is a good man, a great man. I am lucky to have him as the father of Jack, not only because of all he does for us, but also because he passed on his good looks to our little guy. They are two peas in a pod.

...but was there ever a question in any one's mind that Gordy would be an amazing father when he had D. Gordon Wilson as an example?

...and was there ever any doubt that I wouldn't choose an amazing man to marry when I had John Lake set the standard for everything a dad and husband should be/do?

Father's Day is such a special day. I have so many fathers in my life to be grateful for.

Thank you D. Gordon Wilson for raising such an amazing son. He is everything a man should be; compassionate, hard working, and kind. He truly is a friend to everyone. I know that you have played a major roll in turning him into the man he is today. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Thank you John Lake for always being an example to me. I can not think of a time when your example has let me down. I know I can always depend on you to be my super dad who knows why my car is making a noise, how to fix my computer over the phone, or walk me through pumping air into my tires. Thanks for being Mr. Dependable throughout my entire life.

Thank you Gordon Wilson. You have more amazing qualities bundled into one person than I ever thought possible. I am so lucky to have you. Thank you for all you do for us.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Any who... enough of the sappy stuff. This time of year always means two celebrations for our family. One, a celebration of the fathers in our lives (much needed for all of their hard work on our behalves) and two a celebration of Adam's birthday! This year Adam flew in from Fresno to celebrate with us. It was so fun to have all of us together for a few days. To celebrate I made Adam a flourless chocolate cake (note to self, Adam does not like dark chocolate... whoopsie). The rest of us liked it though. It was SUPER rich, after all it was Paula Deen's recipe. We also drove to St. Augustine to get Adam's favorite meal, Osteen's famous shrimp.

My dad got a grill for father's day. The Adam and Gordy thought that it would be fun to "wrap" the grill by putting steaks on top of the box... Dad agreed.

For Father's Day I made Gordy a quilt from some of his favorite shirts from high school, his mission, and college. It was a long time coming, he has been asking me to do this for him since we got married. It was fun to work on it, especially since Gordy helped me with some of the cutting and pinning. It's always a good time when we can work on a project together. Now he can snuggle up be warmed by the quilt and memories of good times he had while wearing his favorite t-shirts.

First Swim

We took Jack swimming for the first time. He was in heaven. He seriously loved every minute of it. He was so comfortable that he even let Gordy lay him back like he was floating on his back. He was just smiling and laughing the entire time. We had to wait until the evening to go, partially because it's way way way too hot to go in the afternoon with Jack's sensitive skin and partially because we wanted to take Jack swimming together. He had a blast. Here are a few shots.

He is going to be our little fish.

Jack, 7 Months

Jack is 7 months old! He actually has been for a week now, but we've been busy having fun in Florida, so it's been difficult to actually sit down and do a blog post. I know, I know I'm slapping myself on the wrist. So much has been going on and I haven't been the teensiest bit good about documenting it. I'll have to do my best at playing catch up.

Anyway, back to what I was saying about Jack. He is now 7 months old! Here is the highlight reel...

7 Month Stats:

Height: 27 in ..... 25th percentile

Weight: 14 lbs 11 oz .... 3rd percentile

Head Circumference: ______ ..... 50th percentile

Jack has fully recovered from his surgery! All that's left are two tiny little scars on his chest that just look like a cat scratch. It's amazing how well he has healed.

Jack put on TWO POUNDS in one month! Now that his heart is not pumping harder than it should, he is burning less calories and is able to pack on the pounds (much to our relief and delight). Before his surgery he wasn't even on the charts for weight. Now, at least he is back on the chart and still gaining.

Jack LOVES peas. Every time we give him a bite of peas he makes a little sound that sounds like he's saying "yum". It's the cutest little thing.

Jack HATES carrots. He makes a stink face every time I try to feed him carrots. He has even gagged and thrown them up. The research I've done says just keep exposing them to foods even if they don't like it, so that's what we are trying. Sometimes the only way I can get him to eat the carrots is if I mix them up with peas. Such a funny little guy.

Jack is still not crawling, but he is scooting a little. It's so funny to watch him move around. He is really good at pivoting around on his tummy. He can spin all the way around.

Jack went swimming for the first time this month. He was in heaven.

This month, Jack has been making the transition from nursing to formula. He has tolerated it very well.

If I give Jack a loud lip-smackin' kiss, he sometimes tries to imitate the kiss noise by clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen.

Jack does NOT like to sit still. I mean at all. He always wants to move around climb all over who ever is holding him or wiggle on the ground. This means he HATES being in the car seat. Actually hate probably isn't a strong enough word. He loathes it.

Jack is SUPER social. He loves being around people and is getting used to being around large crowds (which he can't avoid while we are in Florida because of our large family).

Florida

Aye aye aye... so much to write about! We've been so busy lately! Last week we spent the week going to doctor appointments, packing, and driving across the country. Let's start at the beginning shall we?

Jack finally had is post surgical follow up appointment with his surgeon, Dr. Turrentine, in Indianapolis. We got great news. Jack is healing perfectly! We asked a few specifics about Jack's surgery that we were too preoccupied to ask at the time of surgery. We found out that Jack's heart was completely stopped for 47 minutes during his surgery! Can you believe it!? I still can't. He was also on bypass for 88 minutes (weaning him on and off takes about the same amount of time as the actual repair). We got even better news... Dr. Turrentine said that Jack will most likely NEVER NEED ANOTHER HEART SURGERY! Man, that was such a relief to us. The possibilities of future surgeries was something we were really concerned about and we are so glad that it is something Jack will more than likely never have to go through again. It was so fun seeing our surgeon again. He loves Utah and we always have fun talking to him about that commonality. There was another bonus of going to Riley Hospital for children, Jack got to play with the wagons again! Man, he was all over that wagon! He couldn't get enough!

Don't you love his King of the Hill face?

Jack also had his six month appointment (which was actually at seven months due to his surgery). Stats to come later. I will say that developmentally he is at 9.5 months. That was such a relief to us that his surgery and recovery has not set him back in his development.

After the packing and doctors appointments were taken care of, we immediately hit the road. We made reservations for a hotel at the half way point in our drive, but we decided to press on through and do the 14 hour drive in one day. Yikes. BIG mistake. Jack was just as sweet as he could be, but there is only so much you can ask of a 7 month old baby... and apparently 12 hours in a car seat is the limit for Jack. Poor guy. He just lost it. That is why there are no pictures of the cross country trek... I was constantly make funny noises, singing songs, and playing with Jack. That left no time for pictures. Dang. Thankfully, we made it to my parents house without any car break downs or major traffic back-ups. Jack is already back on his normal schedule.

Saturday was my best friend Jill's baby shower. She is having a little boy, named Cole, in July. It was so fun to see her 8 months pregnant. She looked so cute! I mean seriously, perfect little round pregnancy belly. Fun fact: Jill told me that she was pregnant while I was in the hospital, just after I delivered Jack. Kind of neat that the amount of growth Jack has done represents the length of Jill's pregnancy. I also got to see all of the girls from high school. That was soooo much fun to see all of them. We haven't all been together in the same place since high school graduation in 2006! They are all such cute girls.

Sunday was another fun day. Not only did we get to go to church and see a lot of old friends, but we also had a family dinner. Ryan and Kimber came down from Tallahassee with their girls. Jack was a little bit shocked at how loud my family can be. He was wide eyed the entire time. It will take some time for him to get used to my crazy loud family because he has never really been around crowds before... It was so fun for me to introduce Jack to my cousins children.

Reagan 8 months, Jack 7 months, Eliza 8 months

Orson, Reagan, Eliza, Milly, Jack, and Ayden

second cousins... or maybe first cousins once removed? I don't really know.

They are my cousins kids

So fun to see them all together!

Lazy Days

This past month has been really relaxed. Gordy hasn't been in work or in school, so we are both at home just hanging out with Jack while he recovers from his surgery. It has been really nice to have this time together as a family to just do whatever we want to do.

Jack is doing great! He only had a few rough days when we got home because his sleeping schedule was so messed up from being in the hospital and nurses/doctors checking in on him every 5 seconds... He is on a new nap schedule now and is such a happy little camper. He honestly is the sweetest, happiest little guy around. It's a miracle how quickly he has recovered. He has been off all pain meds (including children's Tylenol) for about two weeks now! He is developing a healthy appetite too. If our bathroom scale is correct Jack has gained close THREE pounds in three weeks! He is weighing in at close to 15 lbs now which FINALLY puts him back on the charts in the 5th percentile. It's amazing that repairing his heart defect could help him burn less calories and put on more weight! He still has more to gain obviously, but he's headed in the right direction and we couldn't be more thrilled. I also think that he has grown longer too, so I'm excited to get his stats when we have his post surgical follow up appointment next week. His incisions are looking great too!

While all of this has been happening, we got some good news... GORDY GOT HIS GRADES IN! He would think it unprofessional if I posted them for the entire world to see, so I'll just say this: He did much better than he expected! He worked so hard this year and he had a lot on his plate with having a new baby and dealing with Jack's health problems on top of being in his first year of law school. In case you didn't know, just one of those things is stressful enough to make your head spin... AND he still managed to do really well! I would have been so proud of him no matter what his grades were, but the fact that he did so well is just a cherry on top of our year. Said shortly, my husband is brilliant.

So this has been a month of waiting...waiting for Jack's follow up appointment so we can go to Florida, waiting for grades.... SO to help us pass the time we've been doing some fun things. We went to the Louisville Temple with the Rickey's and then to our traditional Louisville restaurant, Mark's Feed Store, for the BEST wings you have ever had in your entire life.

We've been working on a T-shirt quilt made of some of the T-shirts Gordy kept from high school, his mission, and college. It's been fun to work on something like that together. Gordy has been a great help with measuring, cutting, and pining while I do all of the sewing. It's starting to come together and I think it's going to look really nice.

We've also been exploring some trails around Bloomington. There are some really nice trails here. Jack obviously thinks so....

We went to a park with Mitchell and the Leavitt's to have a Memorial Day picnic. The park was owned by T.C. Steele who was an amazing artist. His original house and two studios are still standing. It was really beautiful there and you could definitely see that he drew a lot of inspiration for his paintings from the beautiful Indiana landscape.

This last week in Bloomington before leaving for our internship in Florida will be filled with doctors appointments and packing. We are so excited to finally get our summer plans started!

Jack's Surgery, Part Two

Friday Jack was very uncomfortable because his tummy was distended. We had to work through some constipation issues with Jack, which had us all a little worried because he was in so much discomfort. We spent Saturday waiting and waiting and waiting to leave the ICU. Jack was ready to be moved, but we had to wait on a room to open up for him in the heart center. Finally a room became available for him that evening.

Having a room in the heart center was amazing! There was a fold out couch and a cot so Gordy and I could both stay with Jack during the night. We also had our own bathroom and shower which was such a blessing. The next day we checked out of the Ronald McDonald House so another family who was in greater need could use our room.

Jack didn't seem to mind the wait. He was so entertained by his grandparents. Gramma sang him a sweet lullaby that would soothe him. He especially liked being able to watch Tangled with Gramma and Grandpa Lake and Gummy Bears with Lolly and Pop on their Zooms and iPads. Of course he had lots of toys from home to keep him company.

The first day in the heart center was also a little stressful. For an entire day Jack would not eat. We tried everything... baby food, nursing, bottle, juice, water. He was just not interested. We think that it was because his throat was sore from being on the ventilator and because he was uncomfortable with his chest tube in. His eyes were sunken and and the soft spot on his head was sinking in too. The doctors were just about to start him on I.V. fluids again when Jack decided that it was time to eat. Thank goodness.

It turns out that it was a combination of things keeping him from eating. He was on morphine still because of the chest tube and once the docs pulled that pesky thing out, Jack didn't need morphine any more. Isn't it crazy that he was only on morphine for two days after having open heart surgery? Without the chest tube he only needs children's Tylenol to help with the pain. Once the morphine wore off he was much more cooperative with nursing. Not to mention it was much easier for us to hold him, which was really nice.

The white patch on his belly is where his chest tube was. The chest tube actually went all the way inside him and wrapped around his heart to drain the extra fluid that accumulated there. When they pulled it out we were all shocked at how long it was.

With the chest tube out, and once he started eating he was a completely different kid. We started seeing more and more of our old Jack. It wasn't long before he started to get really fussy, and Gordy figured out that Jack was just really tired of being in the same room. So we hooked Jack up to the portable monitor and cruised the hallways. He went on lots of walks...

... and even more wagon rides. He LOVED riding in the wagon!

One thing is for sure, where ever Jack went, he had a crowd of adoring fans following him! One by one his 4 I.V.'s were taken out, pace maker removed, chest tube taken out, and pretty soon we were ready to go home. We were thrilled to find out that Jack could go home on day FOUR after surgery when the typical recovery time for this surgery is 7-10 days.

The Wilson's loading up the cars while the Lake's waited for Rx refills.

Jack was really happy to be going home...

...really really happy....

... and this is what we came home to. So sweet of our friends to welcome Jack home! My parents bought us pizza and ben and jerry's to celebrate! Gordon and Sandy left the next day and my parents stayed an extra day to help us get settled in. We are so so grateful for all of the help they gave to us throughout the entire week.

I would describe the first few days being home like having a baby with colic, but having a set of six month old lungs to back it up. His sleep schedule was so thrown off. Every day is getting better and better though, and now Jack is back to his old smiley self most of the time.

If ever Jack has a time in his life when he doubts his capabilities or what he can accomplish, I can't wait to share these pictures with him and show him just how strong he can be. Show him how many people love him and are in his corner. Show him that even as a six month old baby he had courage and had a smile on his face even when things got rough. Show him that miracles can and do happen and that when we put our trust in Heavenly Father, things always turn out for the best. He has been such a teacher to me through this entire process.