Special Gift

So.... I decided to blog about the special gift my cousin Caroline got Bryce on the day of his open heart surgery because he is loving it these days. It is a Ty brand monkey with hearts on his chest. He is oh so soft and he was one of the few stuffed animals that got to be with Bryce during his recovery. Among other special gifts Bryce received during his time at UAB was a gown resembling a lab coat with UAB on it from his Big Momma and Poppa, a onesie with a choo choo train and hearts from Jenny Sain,a stuffed doggy that looks like Minnie (our dachsund) also from the Sains, flowers from Wes and Katie May on Valentines Day, and many many more precious gifts that I can't recall right at the moment. We are so thankful for each and every one of them. The day of Bryce's surgery, I received a Pandora heart charm that all of the girls in my family got for me! I get a Pandora charm for just about every occasion but this one is by far the most special and meaningful one I have received yet. Also, my mom got me a necklace with a heart shaped locket........Other toys he is loving these days besides his monkey are his Baby Einstein Lion that plays music (from Ronald and Debbie Westmoreland) and his glow worm that plays music given to him by Aunt Debbie. I will leave you with a pic of he and monkey swinging:) Thanks for reading. I'll try to put up some pics soon of the other gifts I mention here.

Bryce's Precious Great Grandfather, Daddy Dene

How incredibly thankful we are for the 4 months Bryce had to know his precious great grandfather Daddy Dene (Jon's grandfather). He passed away at ECM Hospital on Monday, June 6. Although they only had a few months to spend together, the time spent was definitely quality time. We will always remember Bryce and Daddy Dene playing on the couch in Mama Nell and Daddy Dene's formal living room, just laughing and smiling at one another. We also will remember that Daddy Dene loved baby feet and made it a point to mention them every time he was with Bryce. He will be sorely missed but we cling to the precious memories that we prayed would be able to take place before Daddy Dene's passing. Although we are bowed down in sorrow that Daddy Dene is gone, we rejoice in Christ for answering our prayers that they would get to meet one another, especially since Bryce was at UAB for almost a full month after being born. We love you Daddy Dene and we miss you!! Here is a picture of Bryce and Daddy Dene playing:)

Welcome Summer!!!

That's right....Welcome Summer! I love it. We have had the best, most relaxing Memorial Day weekend ever. Of course, the best part was getting to spend lots of quality time with our little man. He is now sleeping on his side at night which is something he has just started in the past week. It is too cute. I feed and bathe him and daddy puts him to sleep. He is a pro at getting him to sleep and I actually think Bryce prefers his daddy to put him to bed:) Other cute things Bryce is doing these days is making sounds when he blows bubbles which sounds something like "a-brr"! It is the sweetest thing...and he loves to sit in his Bumbo seat. We have started sitting him at the dinner table with us while we eat and loves it. He is starting to notice the food on our plates more and more. I just tell him that mommy is eating right now, but he can have it later. :) I know some of you will have a duck when I say this but I was eating ice cream last night and I gave him a tiny drop. Ha..he seemed to like it but then again, what baby doesn't like a little sugar. Anyway, today (Bryce's very first memorial day), we put him in his kiddie pool for the first time. I put on his little bathing suit and sun hat and slathered him in sunscreen....then we heading out in our back yard for a little splishing and splashing with Daddy. He loved it. It took him a second to get used to the water but once he did..he seemed to enjoy it. Jon had put some squeaky toys in there as well and he played with them and of course, tried to eat them. After we got done with that, we all took a nap and headed for dinner at Big Momma and Poppa's house! It was a fantastic day. Boo for daddy having to go back to work tomorrow:( Thanks so much for reading...pics to come soon.

By the way, a big thank you to my grandfathers, my dad, and my brother for their service to our country! I love you and I am so proud of all of you!!

Bryce's First Pool

Bryce in his first pool

Enjoying the water

Cookout at Big Momma and Poppa's house

Worn out from his first Memorial Day

Bryce's Precious Heart

On January 23, 2011, I gave birth to a precious 7 lb., 6 oz. 21 inches long baby boy at 10:15pm. After delivery, he didn't cry out, just a few squeaks here and there. Immediately, my mom (a respiratory therapist), knew something wasn't quite right. At this point, Jon and I were oblivious to the fact that anything was wrong and were overjoyed as we should have been at the birth of our son. At first, they thought it was just his lungs. After a bit of trying to suction his lungs with no strong cry, he was wisked away to the nursery at ECM for further evaluation. After about 4 hours at ECM, lots of suctioning, an oxygen hood, and chest x-rays, he was sent to Huntsville Hospital by ambulance for further evaluation. Quickly after arriving in Huntsville, Bryce had an echocardiogram (because they suspected it may be his heart) that was read by the pediatric cardiologist over his iphone (yes..really!...he was on a ski vacation) who quickly diagnosed Bryce with transposition of the great vessels. A quick explanation....the aortic valve and pulmonary artery are switched. After the diagnosis in Huntsvlle and the phone call from Jon letting me know our son had a heart defect and was going to have to have an operation, Bryce was sent immediately to UAB hospital where we waited 2 weeks and 1 day before he had full blown open heart surgery to correct the problem. Jon was so wonderful through it all. We had arrived at ECM Hospital at about 8:30 am on Sunday, Jan. 23 where he had supported me through a wonderful labor all day long and then chased our precious miracle baby all over the place until he eventually got to UAB Hospital Women's and Children's Center (Regional Neonatal ICU at 3:00 pm the next day. If you are wondering where I was during this time, I had to stay at ECM Hospital to recover for a bit. I was released by Dr. Keith on Monday to go and be with my precious son and husband. Although scared to death, pain medication on board, and running on adrenaline, I was overjoyed to finally arrive at UAB Hospital (around 8:30pm Monday night) to see my husband and son for the first time since delivery. Jon said it was amazing seeing Bryce perk up when I was finally there to hold him and talk to him. He knew his mommy had finally arrived! :) This was just the beginning of our journey...more to come! This picture was taken as Bryce was leaving ECM to go to Hunstville Hospital (still thinking it was his lungs at that point)