Vacation 2012, June 8: Exceeding Expectations

Well, we made the four hour drive to Cincinnati in less than six hours (no, really).  It was a good trip.  I was tired since I was up until 3 am packing.  I don't know why I do that to myself.  We went straight to the stadium and met our escort for the afternoon.  His name was Kylee and he had gifts for us.  He had black Reds hats for me & Bryan, red Reds hats for the boys, and small teddy bears wearing a Reds hat, jersey, and holding a bat for each of the boys.

After we got our special passes that were marked "Field Visitor" we went into the undergound area of Great American Ballpark.  He took our picture outside the Reds Clubhouse.  Then we went down some hallways and through a guarded door to the visitor's dugout and onto the field.  We stood in a roped area behind home plate.  From there we watched the players take batting practice and stretch.  There were very few people in the stadium because the gates weren't even open yet.  We got a couple balls that rolled our way and the boys got to keep them.  We saw players, managers, broadcasters, and front office staff we recognized.  Of course we had our camera and took many, many pictures! 

Outside the Reds Clubhouse

As batting practice was winding down we were escorted to the front of the Reds dugout.  The lady (Lorrie) who arranged all this for us was there, and she would bring players over and introduce us.  The first player we met was Jay Bruce.  He's the right fielder.  Zachary was tired after the long trip, and it was very hot so his Shy & Cranky mood was in full swing.  We were a little surprised by this since he had been in such a great mood as we walked to the stadium, but these moods can hit him faster than a migraine.  What can I say, he's four so I guess he's allowed a little moodiness.  Anyway, Jay started talking to us and when we tried to introduce Zachary he hid behind me.  Jay says, "Maybe you'd like my batting gloves?" and immediately pulls them off and hands them to Zachary.  Bryan, who never leaves the house without a Sharpie and his collector's quick thinking, says, "Would you sign them?"  So now Zachary is the proud owner of a pair of Jay Bruce game used autographed gloves.  He wouldn't acknowledge Jay or any of the other players we met, but after the fact he is very excited about the experience.  Eli enjoyed himself too, he started waving to people as soon as we entered the Reds offices and didn't stop until we were in our seats for the game.  I'm pretty sure his arms got sore. 

Jay Bruce using the batting gloves he later autographed for Zachary

With Jay Bruce outside the reds dugout

After Jay left Lorrie brought Drew Stubbs over.  He plays center field .  He talked to us quite a bit and was very amused by Eli.  Eli kept pointing to Drew's face and saying "baby."  We didn't understand at first until I saw Eli's reflection in Drew's dark sunglasses.  He took them off and held them in front of Eli so he could see himself better.  I don't think Eli got all ten fingerprints on Drew's lenses but he came close.  After posing for a picture with us he signed a mini helmet for the boys.

Eli seeing his reflection in Drew Stubbs' sunglasses

The next player we got to meet was Scott Rolen.  He is the regular third baseman, but he's on the Disabled List right now because of shoulder problems.  He is an old man in baseball terms.  I only say that because he & Bryan are the same age and it's really my way of teasing Bryan.  Bryan actually played against Scott in high school as conference rivals (Scott went to Jasper High School).  Anyway, he came over and spoke to us.  As Zachary was turning away during the introduction Scott said, "It's okay, I have a boy & girl at home who are shy too."  He signed a baseball for Zachary and talked with Bryan for a few minutes. 

With Scott Rolen

The last player we got to meet was Zack Cozart.  He's the shortstop.  When we watch games at home Zachary likes to watch Zack because "He has my name except he's Zack and I'm Zachary."  A few months ago Bryan had written to Zack and told him he was Zachary's favorite player.  He sent Zachary batting gloves in the mail.  When we met him Bryan told Zack that Zachary has them and loves to show them off.  Zack's reply was "People don't think we get our fan's letters but we really do."  Just a little encouragement to anyone who has thought about writing to their favorite players!  Anyway, he signed a mini helmet for the boys and posed for a picture with us before having to leave for a hitters meeting. 

With Zack Cozart

Between meeting players we just hung out in front of the dugout and watched.  Music was playing and Eli was dancing in my arms.  A small crowd of people had gathered behind the Reds dugout in hopes of getting some autographs and Eli had the attention of nearly everyone there as he waved his arms in the air and bounced.  I'm not sure how I held on to him because he was moving so much and I was laughing so hard.  Even Zachary was laughing at Eli and it helped bring Z back to his normal happy mood.

All the players we met were so nice and genuinely wanted us to enjoy ourselves at the game. They even thanked us for coming which I thought was funny since the Reds provided the tickets for us.  Each of them wished us luck and shook hands with us as we met and parted parted ways.  I used to be a Reds fan by marriage, but this experience has made me a true Reds fan!

Kylee took us back across the field (we walked across the on deck circles) and back to the visitor's dugout the way we came in.  On the way he handed Bryan another gift for us:  $50 in concession vouchers that are good all season.  Of course we were hungry and planned to buy food anyway, but it tasted even better just because of the kindness we'd been shown.  Our tickets were aisle seats in the lower level behind the visitor's dugout.  The protective net behind home plate ended just to our right so Bryan was always ready with his glove in case a foul ball came our way (which it never did). 

Helmet with two layers of nachos & cheese = one very happy & full family of four :)

Eli making friends

The game itself was very exciting.  Zack Cozart scored the first run and the Reds had an early lead.  Joey Votto hit a 3-run homer, and they held that lead until the Detroit Tigers tied it in the 8th.  No one scored in the 9th so we went to extra innings.  Miguel Cairo scored the winning run on a aqueeze bunt by Wilson Valdez in the bottom of the 10th, so we had a Reds victory.  Zachary's mood had improved dramatically with food, and he was completely caught up in the excitement of the win.  I was holding him at the end of the game so he could see (the crowd was on its feet!).  He stayed in my arms and slapped fives with anyone who would as he yelled "Go Reds!"  Even some Tiger fans gave him five because it's hard to be upset at a little kid cheering for his team. 

The Reds have fireworks over the river after Friday night games.  The bright lights were shut off and we sat through more than 20 minutes of the most spectacular fireworks we've ever seen.  Zachary literally could not sit still.  He gave complete play by play of each blast.  Eli watched the sky in awe.  It was his first time seeing fireworks.  Apparently he wasn't as impressed as his brother because he fell asleep in my arms despite the loud booms and blaring music.  He woke up when we were leaving and waved to everyone as we made our way out of the stadium and walked to the van.  Yes, I mean he was still waving and smiling as I buckled him into his seat. 

Our hotel is in Florence, KY which in normal traffic is about 20 minutes from Cincy.  Despite game traffic it didn't take much longer and we got to our hotel about midnight.  Eli was completely out by then and didn't even wake up when I took him out of the van.  He stayed asleep all the way to our room (including an elevator ride).  He woke up for a while at 2 when we gave him his meds and changed his soaking wet diaper, but he went back to sleep until his normal wake up time.  Zachary was very wound up at the hotel, but very agreeable to putting on pjs and brushing his teeth.  He laid down while Bryan brushed his teeth and was asleep before Bryan was done. 

It was a great day and we are so lucky to have had the experience together.  All of us had so much fun and we are so grateful for the special opportunity.  We asked Zachary what his favorite part was and in typical four year old fashion he said, "The fireworks.  Then the game.  Oh yeah, and meeting the players!"  A huge thank you to the Reds organization and MLB for making this incredible memory for us.

Former Reds player Joe Morgan

Eli loved watching her until we got this close

Our autographs and gifts from our wonderful Reds experience

The boys trying on their Jay Bruce autographed batting gloves

Bryan and Zachary standing in the Reds on deck circle

Coming up out of the visitor's dugout and taking his first steps on the field

Mommy & Zachary enjoying Reds batting practice

Daddy & Eli watching batting practice

Vacation 2012, A Foreword

VACATION.  We. Need. One.

For anyone who knows my husband, you already know he loves baseball.  He played it all through Little League, Senior League, high school and even in college where his team (Rose Hulman Engineers...yes he's smart and athletic) won the conference championship and made the NCAA Division 3 tournament in 1996.  The Cincinnati Reds have always been his favorite team, but he's a true lover of the sport and will enter a trance watch whenever a game is on.  He loves sports in general and has a hobby of writing to players & teams asking for autographs, fan packs, team info, etc. 

Recently he wrote a letter to the office of Major League Baseball and explained our family's situation with Eli's heart problems.  In the letter he talked about what an awesome big brother Zachary is and how we strive to do some special things for him in light of all the attention Eli receives.  Bryan asked if Zachary could receive something special from the Reds or discount tickets for our family to go to a Reds game.  Their response:  they notified the Reds organization who sent us a letter asking the four of us to be their guests at a game and join the players ON THE FIELD for batting practice!  After Bryan changed his pants and underwear he immediately sent back a "YES" reply and got to work with our Reds contact to pick a date that worked for us & them.  That date became Friday, June 8. 

We decided to make that the kickoff to our vacation and spend a few days in & around Cincy.  Then we decided to go to Indy for a few days after that.  These are both destinations that are pretty familiar to us, but we don't mind repeating attractions.  Zachary loves any zoo & aquarium and Eli is now getting old enough to enjoy those things too.  While in Cincy we are definitely going to the Reds game on the 8th, we purchased tickets to go Sunday night as well, we will go to the aquarium in Newport and hopefully the zoo and museum as well.  We don't want to schedule too much because we have to see how Eli tolerates these big long activities.  Our hotels in each city have indoor pools so we should be able to entertain one child if the second is too tired.

That's an adventure I could live without -- searching for a hotel.  We HAVE to have a refrigerator in our room for Eli's medicine.  Yes, that's standard in many hotels these days but not all hotels, and we can't take the chance we don't have one.  We also like to have an indoor pool if possible but we won't complain if it's outside.  We also like it to include a breakfast.  To me, those requests don't sound like much but apparently it is because our search takes days.  Maybe it's because we want a 5 star room for a 2 star price?  And we have to book two hotels this time since we're going to two cities.  Oh well, it's done and I think we'll be happy with our choices.  I'm sure you'll read more about this in a future post!

We don't usually broadcast when we're out of town so my goal is to blog each day of our vacation but not post those until we're back home.  So, lucky readers, you'll have several posts to read all at once!  Or not.  I LOVE that so many people follow us but there are two reasons I do this.  One reason is to provide updates about Eli's health and our family to our family & loved ones.  We have so many people who pray for us and the least we can do is keep them up to date.  The other reason is simply for us.  We have so much going on and I want to keep a record for the four of us to reflect back on someday.  I get teary-eyed thinking about the day forty years from now when our boys will be sitting at their computers (or whatever high-tech device it is then) reading about our lives and bringing back memories they may have forgotten.  Just typing that sentence makes me think about one very important thing...I hope I remember to give each of them the web address!

Anyway, what's to come in the next few days will be a lot of wonderful memories for our family.  Zachary has eagerly been counting the days to "Our Vacation!"  Eli is caught up in Zachary's excitement and Albert is ready for it to be over with and have us back home to cater to him.  Well, we leave in less than 24 hours so I'd better start packing!

Hair cut and Mother's Day

All of us together on Mother's Day

First of all, Eli is feeling much better.  He still has a little bit of a runny nose, but he's back to playing a lot and being crazy.  No, really, the kid's not quite right but he's all ours!  Anyway, we had an extremely busy weekend.  Saturday started with making French Toast and bacon (Zachary's request).  Zachary's a great helper!  Then off to the ball field for Zachary's tball game.  We ate lunch at Mi Pueblo then surprised Zachary by taking him to the Rail Fest in town.  It's sponsored by the Daviess County Historical Society and there are lots of train exhibits/collectors/experts there.  He won a prize at the games (a pink stuffed elephant earned by picking up a rubber duck out of a pool.  The duck had the letter "L" on it, which meant "large" but he insists it's "L" for "elephant."  We tried to explain the difference but sometimes you can't argue with four-year-old logic).  Then it was time for the main reason we went....he wanted to ride the train.  He & I went and it was a fun ride.  The "L-ephant" was safely strapped in the seat between us and seemed to have fun too.

We only spent about 25 minutes at the Rail Fest but in that short time Eli was referred to as a girl at least three times.  He's needed a haircut for a while but Bryan and I both wanted to be there for it and it's been hard to get it done since he's been sick.  Now was the time.  We went.  There was no wait.  Bryan, Zachary & Eli all got their hair cut.  I stood ready with the camera and snacks. Eli did great.  He sat in the chair by himself and wore the cape.  She even used the clippers on the back of his neck and around his ears and he didn't fuss much about that at all.  It's sad to me that he can let someone use scissors around his head but he throws a tantrum to be put on the scales at the doctor's office.  Anyway, he did great and looked at himself in the mirror a lot.  Zachary did well too (he HATES getting his haircut, but once it starts he does fine). 

BEFORE:  It's not clear but it shows the curls and length in the back.

A good shot showing some of the length he had.  Poor kid probably hadn't seen anything for months because of the hair over his eyes!

Bryan and Zachary getting their hair cuts at the same time.

He always fusses but it looks so good when he's done!

AFTER:  All his precious curls are GONE!  sorry I can't figure out how to rotate this picture so it's straight

Some of the hair that was left in the chair (there was at least this much on the floor and we already filled an envelope as a keepsake!)

♥ Now he definitely looks like a little boy ♥

After haircuts we went to Walmart.  Then we finally went home.  Bryan's dad brought their tiller over and Bryan started tilling our very first garden ever.  I'm hearing that it's getting late to start a garden but we figure better late than never, right?  The worst we can do is kill it.  I'm sure there will be some mention of this fiasco adventure in future posts.  While he was doing that the boys played and & helped me as I potted flowers.

 

 

Two of my hanging baskets

Some of our potted flowers

Our garden:  the beginning    More to come on this later

 

On Sunday we had several people over from both our families.  Bryan grilled turkey strips and hot dogs and I made a pulled Italian pork roast.  It was all very good and we had a really fun day.  Bryan and the boys gave me an Austin Collie Colts jersey and a handmade card.  Zachary's preschool made Mother's Day gifts:  a chocolate dipped spoon, a handmade card, and three books - one of pictures of their favorite nursery rhymes, one that had a picture/painting/drawing from each month of preschool, and a third that was all about Zachary and included a family portrait he drew, his likes and dislikes, a photograph, and his height & weight.  It was a very special day!  It would have been more special if the Pacers had beaten the Miami Heat in the playoff game, but I can't have everything and everything I really want I already have!

Reason #1 I get to celebrate Mother's Day

Reason #2 I get to celebrate Mother's Day

Zachary playing with baby cousin Alyssa.  Both Eli & Zachary are very protective of her.

The day wore Z out!  He fell asleep on the couch leaning on Aunt Ashley (Veale) while the Pacers were on!

My mom Betty Norris and grandmother (her mother) Dorothy Crouse.  Pretty ladies!

Bryan's grandmother Joyce Rayman.  She always balks at having her picture taken so this is a rare shot!

Lazy day after our busy weekend.  Silly boys playing and watching tv.

Again, thanks for reading.  We hope all the mothers, grandmothers, godmothers and mother-figures who deserve recognition had a great day. 

Teething Woes

Eli is cutting his back molars.  Not a fun week in our house.  He's been drooling enough to put out small fires, running fevers, isn't eating much and is just grouchy (not his normal attitude).  Last night (Wednesday night/Thursday morning)  he wouldn't go down for bed.  That's very unusual for him because his normal is about 12 hours a night.  Total he got about 3-4 :(  As the night went on he got fussier & fussier and kept pulling at his ears.  I was already giving him Tylenol & Ibuprofen so I tried a warm compress.  He didn't like that, but he didn't like anything at this point. 

Dr. Amy saw him this morning and said his ears are not very red but there's a lot of drainage.  In addition to the Tylenol & Ibuprofen we've been using for pain & fever we're adding Dimetapp & Benadryl to help dry him up & relieve the pressure.  If that doesn't work I have a script for an antibiotic we can fill over the weekend if we need it.  We'd like to avoid the antibiotic if we can because he just got over a nasty yeast infection that took a long time to clear up, but of course if he needs it he will get it.  

I know this is all normal stuff that isn't a big deal in the big picture of life, but because of Eli's heart problems his body reacts differently to normal things.  When you have a fever your heartrate increases, but Eli's heartrate can't go faster.  That means his lips & feet are purple more often.  His blood pressure is higher.  It adds to the "I don't feel good, Mommy" feeling he already has.  His BP today was a little high and his oxygen saturation was a little lower than his normal, but these are expected for what he's going through now.

Thank you for the prayers that have been said for him.  He's sleeping now, thank goodness!  Hopefully he has a good weekend and is quickly feeling better soon.

What Pump?

Something very exciting happened here today....we sent Eli's feeding pump back to the pharmacy!  He hasn't had a tube feeding for a few months, but I was afraid to send the pump back until we were sure he wouldn't need it.  Now...it's gone!  Don't misunderstand me, we only sent the machine back to the pharmacy, Eli still has his feeding tube (MicKey button).  He still takes his medicines through that although he's getting better about taking some of it orally.  And we still have access if we need to tube a feeding to him, but he eats about anything we put in front of him.  Seriously, the child doesn't turn much down.

We're trying to wean him off the formula and onto milk, but that's going slowly.  We're also working on switching from a bottle to a sippy cup.  He doesn't like the cup very well.  He will drink out of a straw but won't use the sippy cups with straws.  I'm really not too worked up about getting him off the bottle.  I know most 18 month olds have moved from the bottle to the cup but in light of everything Eli has dealt with, we're not worried about this.

Eli is VERY close to walking on his own.  He cruises furniture like nobody's business and can walk holding just one of our fingers, but he will not let go.  I'm okay with that too ;)  He'll be doing it very soon and I know we'll be so proud of the accomplishment.  As he's worked with his physical therapist through these major mobility events (crawling, standing, cruising, walking), it's been so amazing to see how much energy it takes these little creatures to do these things we take for granted.  I never knew how much more cardiac support was required to work the lower part of the body.  Eli's always been very strong, and actually very well coordinated for his age (that must be from Daddy).  His mobility delays haven't been a lack of strength, it's a lack of cardiac support.  Our goal with physical therapy is to teach him how to make the most of what cardiac support he has.

He had an appointment with Dr. Amy yesterday.  He weighs 22lbs 6oz, is 31 3/4 inches long.  His heart rate was in the upper 70's (a little slow for his age but consistent with his junctional rhythm).  His oxygen saturation ranged 86%-88% (that's about average for him).  Overall, he's doing well.  We're all noticing some minor things with him.  He's more tired after a big family event (the zoo outing for example); his lips, fingers, & feet get blue more often, but he doesn't show any signs of distress when that happens; and he's consistently taking one long nap or two shorter naps a day in addition to sleeping well at night.  All these are signs that his body is getting closer to needing that next surgery.  We go back to the cardiologist at the end of June and will learn more about when the third stage of surgery will be.  Right now we're roughly anticipating July or August, but that's just a guess at this point.

Eli is a very silly little boy.  He makes a lot of faces and loves hearing Zachary laugh at him.  He plays with trucks more than Zachary did at this age.  He cracks up when we're in a public bathroom and someone tears the paper towel off the dispenser (for some reason, it's not nearly as funny when I tear off paper towel in the kitchen...go figure?).  He also LOVES to unroll the toilet paper in any bathroom and, yes, thinks it's funny when that sheet is torn off as well.  A sneeze makes him laugh (his or anyone else who sneezes!).  One of his favorite games is to lift his foot to our face and have us smell his toes, then for us to say "Stinky Toes!" and act like we're gagging.  He laughs hysterically.  Going to Zachary's tball games is really fun for Eli.  He sits in his little Mickey Mouse ("MiMo") lawn chair and claps for both teams.  He yells "Bubba!" and points a lot.  He knows he's a hot shot.  Zachary & Eli play so well together and really learn a lot from each other.  I could literally sit and watch them for hours if life would let me!

Thanks for reading and we hope you're all doing well!

Dinosaurs at the ZOO!

I've been very bad about posting lately.  I changed our layout the other day and when I saw the last post was Feb 29 I was very ashamed of myself.  Then it took another week to actually get one done!  Many things have happened since our last post:  Bryan & I now have a beautiful niece (Alyssa Mae), the Daviess County March for Babies walk was a great success, Albert had minor surgery (recovering well now), Eli is getting closer & closer to taking steps on his own, and we went to the Louisville Zoo on Sat the 21st.  I may do other posts to elaborate about some of the other topics, but this one is about THE ZOO!

This is our third trip to the Louisville Zoo since Zachary's joined our family.  Our last visit there was August 1 2010.  I remember it well....it was HOT and I was 6 months pregnant (for those of you who remember, when I'm 6 months along I look much bigger than that, many people asked if I was overdue or how many I was carrying!).  One of the big reasons we went to the zoo at that time was because we had just come back from a family vacation (Bryan's parents, grandmother, two sisters, brother-in-law, and the three of us rented a house in Florida for a week) and there Zachary discovered his love for dinosaurs.  It started very innocently; we went to an ice cream shop and they put a small plastic dinosaur on his cone.  He thought it was funny.  He started playing with it.  By the time we left that ice cream shop we had accumulated 4 dinosaurs.  He played with them constantly.  Keep in mind that he was still two years old at the time.  Since then the obsession has grown, as most of you know.  Once we were back home, Bryan's sister Cara called & said the L'ville Zoo had a dinosaur exhibit for a few weeks that Zachary might enjoy.  So off to the zoo we went.  The exhibit was more than we expected.  They were motorized dinosaurs complete with sound.  It was really cool.  We spent a long time in that exhibit.  Zachary was a little scared at first, but got used to it and we had a hard time getting out of there.  Unfortunately, because of that visit, he thought the zoo always had dinosaurs and that ALL zoos had dinosaurs.  That was difficult to explain when we later visited the zoos in Cincinnati & Evansville.

We were talking to Cara & Andrew the other day and they told us the dinos are coming back!  We quickly checked it out online and found that the exhibit will be there until July 31st.  We showed Zachary and he could hardly stop jumping around.  We planned a trip and went on Saturday (which happened to be Alyssa's 1 month birthday!)

Again, we had a great time.  They had changed the exhibit since last time and several of the dinosaurs were new ones.  Both times they had one that would randomly spit (water) at the gathered crowed, much to Zachary's enjoyment!  I had a little moment early in the trip.  We saw the elephants early this time (last time it was one of the last animals we saw).  As I stood there holding Eli, watching him point at the elephants as they ate and stared at us, I vividly remembered rubbing my swollen belly watching the elephants on our last visit.  I remember thinking I how exciting it would be to come back as a family of four and let this baby see the elephants too.  I was overwhelmed with emotion as I held Eli and I started crying.  I was so happy to just be holding him after everything we've been through since our last visit, I was so sad because of everything he's endured and the hopes I silently had before his birth have been altered so much.  It's not been the journey we expected.  I know the best way to make God laugh is to tell Him your plans, but what expectant parent doesn't make plans?  As we walked away from the elephants I was trying to dry my unexpected tears and gather myself when Eli started laughing.  It was the perfect moment to remind me that the path we're on is exactly where we're supposed to be and that we have two choices:  a) wallow in grief and miss the present or b) trudge along and enjoy Every Little Beat with a few reminiscent tears thrown in at times. 

Anyway, we had a WONDERFUL time seeing the dinosaurs and all the other animals.  The zoo wasn't crowded at all because it was cold (not sure it got above 55 all day) and there was a huge air show in Louisville that most people were attending instead of the zoo.

Here's some pictures to enjoy!  We're already planning our next trip back while the dinosaurs are still there :)

HELP!!!!  My boy's being eaten by a T Rex!  I love how blue his eyes are in this picture!

August 2010, Zachary was almost 3 and I'm 6 months pregnant with Eli.

Zachary's size compared to a full grown gorilla in August 2010.

  

This is Zachary 20 months later.

It was pretty cold so we borrowed a blanket from baby Alyssa to help keep Eli warm.  Most of him was warm, but his hands were cold all day (I'm sure it had nothing to do with him chewing on them & his sleeves all day!)

Zachary looking at turtles in the tank.

"Flintstones, meet the Flintstones...."  It's really hard to sit on a dino's back!

Cara, Andrew & Alyssa Foreman    Their first family photo on a dinosaur.

This is a Suchomimus....

this is a Suchomimus spitting and surprising people!

This is a Megalosaurus.  My boys weren't phased by it at all.  Notice Zachary's dino hat & claw gloves he HAD to wear most of the day.  It was very cute & helped keep him warm too.  He got lots of comments about his attire.  

Zachary at the dino dig.  He knew exactly what to do...use the shovels until you find bone then use the brushes so you don't damage the bone.  It took a long time to get him out of this!

Zachary-asaurus holding his baby cousin, Alyssa.  He was worried that the dinosaurs, lions, tigers, and other animals would scare her.  He decided she'd be okay if we kept telling her they were in their cages & couldn't get to us.

This is Zachary's favorite dinosaur (this week), a Pachycephalosaurus.  This gives an idea of how big these robot dinosaurs are.  We're standing several feet in front of it.  I'm almost 6 feet tall and it towers me.  The detail put into these is incredible.

Eli waving to a Megalosaurus as it growled at us and turned its head.

Eli loved the polar bear exhibit.  He thought it was funny to watch the bear swim and come up with toys.

We are excited to go back when this exhibit is finished, but it was pretty nice already!

Family photo in front of the gorilla exhibit.

There's a fenced in area with several kangaroo.  Groups of people can walk on the path in the area with a guide and be right in with the animals.  In one photo we got, a kangaroo has her hand in her pouch, guess she was cold too!

Who wouldn't have fun with this group? 

Echo Update

If you read the last post, you know we've been battling a stomach flu around here.  When Monday morning rolled around, I was pretty sick, so my wonderful husband took the day off work.  He was starting to feel bad himself, but he took Eli to Evansville for the echo and appointment with Dr. Kumbar.

Eli did well during the echo.  They only had to stop once because of fussing (I didn't ask, but I assumed it was Eli fussing and not Bryan).  Bryan said it helped that Eli watched Elmo's World while it was being done...thank goodness for puppets :)

Once at the appointment, an EKG was done.  That showed his rhythm is still junctional.  At this point, we don't expect his rhythm to change on its own, but we just keep hoping.  In a way, I'm happy to know that it's consistently been junctional and isn't changing from one rhythm to another.  That would be very rough on him. 

Since Eli has tolerated the junctional rhythm so well, Dr. Kumbar wants to restart him on Captopril.  That's a medicine to help increase his heart function.  He took it regularly after his first heart surgery, but stopped after the second one because of the rhythm.  He's done well since being off of it, but it's time for him to resume.  He needs the extra help. 

Dr. Kumbar said there were a couple things to watch on the echo, but these are things that have been seen previously and we were already watching.  One of those things is his mitral valve (valve between the left atrium and left ventricle) is leaking.  Again, this is something we already knew and will continue to monitor.

The big news of the day was his oxygen saturation....it was 94%!  I don't know if it's ever been that high!  He usually hovers in the low to mid 80s.  Obviously, he wasn't sporting any bluish lips or fingers when that level was taken!

Overall, she's very pleased and Eli will go back to see Dr. Steinberg in June.  He's the one who will ultimately make the decision about when to proceed with a pacemaker and third surgery (Fontane completion). 

I've never missed any of Eli's doctor appointments or tests before.  Even though he was with his daddy, I hated not being with them and getting to hear the news myself.  Some of that is the nurse in me, but mostly it's the mommy. 

I think the four of us are on the mend.  Bryan stayed home today too.  He was feeling pretty bad by the time they got back from Evansville.  His stomach is better tonight, but just feels dizzy at times and has no energy.  That pretty much sums it up for all of us.  We can eat, but don't really want to (that's NOT normal for any of us!). 

Eli goes to Dr. Amy's this Friday for his Synagis injection.  If you're not familiar with that, it's a vaccination against RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus), a virus that is very dangerous for babies but especially ones who were premature or have other health issues.  It's a very expensive medicine, but well worth it when you compare it to the cost of a hospitalization or the risk of death because of RSV.  Last month we paid $4500 for his monthly dose (he's big enough now that he requires two vials...yea?).  This month, we've met his deductible and only had to pay $50!  Even better news is that he's approved for 3 more this season.  We thought he would only be approved through this month, so we're relieved.

Thanks for all the prayers and support since my last post.  We know everyone is dealing with a lot of issues of their own, and the fact that people continue reaching out to us is very touching.  I usually end these with a request for prayers, but this time I want you to know that I'm praying for you.  My prayer is one of thanks for caring about our family, for peace in your own lives, and that any struggles you're having are relieved.  Again, thanks for reading.