Chase's new favorite hobby

Thanks Grandma Lehman for the picture!

Catching some rays

Chase always fell asleep on his walks. Regardless of when his last nap was. So I got him so new shades and today he was awake until the very end.

Good to see him checking his world out. But he HATES the wind, which our neighborhood seems to have an abundance of. Had to cover him up for some of the trip.

PS- He does not stroll about in the sun- I am very careful about keeping him out of the sun since he can't use sunscreen just yet.

Loving the new grub!

Ok- admittedly the mess was helped out by me. Who knew that when you try to wipe sweet potatoes (or anything else) off his face with a spoon, only more would be left behind?

If you can't tell, Chase is loving baby food way more than that nasty rice cereal- and I don't blame him :-)

He also feels bigger. I think he'll never be a chunky monkey, but he's going to be tall and lanky. Which is ok by me!

The Boys and their Mommies

Last Thursday Chase got to hang out with his buddies. Carter, Will, Jackson, Brody & Chase humored their moms by posing for some pics. Then Teri (carrying her own mini!) and Molly got in on the fun!

5 boys, all under 2- made for a very fun & loud evening.

Chase Update

We've had a few doctor's visits in the last month, and a couple more tomorrow- so I'm sure I'll update this again then. But here's the latest.

Heart- met with Dr. Weinhaus 2 weeks ago for a follow up on Chase's surgery. They noticed his heart function wasn't what it should be, so they added two new meds and increased one he was already on. Today we went back in & to quote Dr. Larry "He is 100% better!" Excellent news. I guess it was not good at all at the last visit. Normal output is about 55-60% (how much blood is pumped out)- Chase's last visit, he was 20%. . . good thing they didn't tell me that, can you imagine??? Well, now it's 44% which is awesome. They're going to keep him on the meds, probably till the next surgery, which is 2-4 (maybe) years away.

Feet- we had to go back in last week bc Houdini feet over here kept slipping his left foot out. It was as annoying as he is cute. You'd literally tie the shoe, turn around and it'd be out. So they added more padding. We meet with Dr. Noonan tomorrow- so more later.

Liver- Chase's labs continue to come back good, so that is very promising. The older he gets with no symptons, the less likely this will be a big concern for him/us. GI doc put us on cereal, which Chase has decided he no longer likes. So we're starting baby food-only apples so far.
And it seems to be working- he's up 8oz in the last two weeks! Which is better than the 3oz the two weeks before.

Eyes- Chase's cardiologist thought he might have a big of a lazy eye- nothing that I've noticed & seriously, wouldn't I notice that? We spend countless HOURS staring at each other each day. Well we went in today, which was on the books for the 22q anyways & I was right! He is fine. Normal normal normal. We will follow up in 6 months, but it looks good. Although- Chase might want to start trying on glasses bc I'm blind as a bat (no comments please) and Dad wears contacts as well.

I think that's it for now. We've got Audiology and Feet tomorrow, so more then.

Easter with the Kessenichs

The last one is just a good pic!

Got me some new kicks - Part 2

I know I talk a lot about being special, having it good, and in general, being pretty darn sweet. But now I can PROVE it! Check out my one-of-a-kind, designed especially for me, HAND PAINTED - sweet new shoes.

I'll give you a minute to contain your jealousy :-)

Now, I know Mom wasn't thrilled at the idea of me wearing thos 1950's bright white ortho shoes any more than I was. In fact, she's got a whole box of shoes that she had put together for me before we knew what we were in for. Lucky for me, she's got connections! Her good friend, Logan, designs sneakers for grown ups and sells them for beacoup (A LOT) bucks.

So she called him up and asked him if he would put something together for me and Ta Dah! Aren't they sweet? I'm pretty excited.

New stuff

Oh the heartbreak of the working mom. Gotta pay the bills, but we miss so much while we're gone.

Chase just rolled over for my dad ;-) Without his shoes, which is excellent news! However, since I'm not really excited for him to get mobile, it's a little sad. Plus just a reminder that he's growing up- sniff.

Ok, I'm over myself now.

Another thing Chase can do? Kick himself in the head! Yep- if you look closely at the picture of him and the bottle- just above his right eye you will see a red mark. He apparently forgot about his 5lb shoes and nailed himself in the head the other day. Poor kid.

He is also liking his bumbo more now that he can sit up. Bumbo is the green chair. I don't really know what purpose it serves just yet, he can clearly manuver out of it in a few weeks. But it makes for cute pics and was "one of the top things to register for." Maybe I would get it if I had a coffee table or something?

Happy early Easter!

I suppose it's only fair

Chase has modified his favorite pastime. Instead of shoving his whole hand in his mouth, now it's just. . . HIS THUMB :-( Now, as a former thumb-sucker myself, I can understand the appeal. And as his mom it's good that he can self-soothe. But so help me G*d if he is sucking his thumb at 11 like I was.

here's some cute pics of him in action :-)