7 weeks

It is hard to believe it has been 7 weeks since Henry blessed our lives. It seems so much longer than that to me - Seattle seems like forever ago. Anyway he is doing incredibly well. We went to the cardiologist last Thursday and he said all looks good, there was really no change since the previous visit two weeks before. They are still keeping an eye on the coarct to make sure it grows with him as it should. We go back in a month. He is gaining weight, eating well (very), he watches everything we do - especially Emily and George. I am pretty sure he smiled directly at me the other day - he coos and moves his arms in a very authoritative fashion. He is starting to like baths a little bit more each time - still not a huge fan though.

George loves baby "Hinney" he is doing better with the binky and actually will give his up (which was really Henry's) if Henry starts to cry. He tries to give Henry the binky sometimes which resembles someone stuffing a turkey. Henry will certainly be a tough little guy. George has so many new words - his favorite is "moose" he can pretty much tell the difference between an elk, moose and deer (not every time though). We were watching a show on animal planet the other day and they were talking about a platypus (only for a few minutes). George walked away seemingly uninterested and went to a box of books and toys he hadn't paid any attention to in a long long time and came back with a book. He handed it to Drew who looked at it to read and saw that it was a book George had gotten in a Chick-fil-a kids meal about Atticus the Platypus. We do not have Chick-fil-a anywhere near here so it was from either last May or Christmas when we visited Mississippi last. He continues to love his sandbox and usually when we can't find him he is there very content.

As some of you know we get a basket each week from a local family filled with fresh vegetables. With the end of the 'fresh anything' season coming soon the local farmer's market is closed and we now either meet Farmer Brown's family somewhere in town or go to his home/farm to pick it up. He has a great set up with lots of room to roam and nine children each with a specific job to do from the charming smiles of their 3 month old to the fantastic baking abilities of their 19 year old. We get fresh flowers, hand made soap, incredible breads and cookies and of course vegetables. George is holding one of the zucchinis from this weeks basket. I will be sad when these baskets end and look forward to next years bounty. We went to pick ours up this week and George played with their two year old, Joey - they had so much fun playing in the dirt with Joey's excavators and tractors and other "CAT" trucks. Great ideas for birthday gifts - cannot believe he is almost two.
I will post some on Emily in a little while ( I need to get a picture) - the natives are getting restless so typing is not so easy right now.

Just plugging along

Everything has been great here lately. Henry is doing really well and is on an every two week visit rather than every week to the cardiologist. He is eating very well and gaining weight. He is getting used to his surroundings and sleeping well. We have been out shopping a few times but it is nice to stay home. George has been really good and as always, enjoying life to its fullest. Drew put sand in his sandbox and he is in heaven. It is hard to get him out of the sandbox but he has been listening pretty well. As long as he knows he can play again he comes out to eat and nap :-). He seems to love his baby brother and wants to hold him (this only lasts for a few seconds and then he wants to run and play. He is still the "binky thief" but has now resorted to taking Henry's and replacing it with his own. I suppose he just wants to see if Henry's binky is better than his. George has been busy helping Drew do projects that were put on hold while we were gone - it is amazing how difficult it is to get back to normal after being gone for three weeks. We are beginning to lose the feeling of being overwhelmed and normal is beginning to sink in. Emily is doing well and keeping us busy. She is enjoying school and doing well with her work so far. She is managing volleyball at this time and gets to travel with the team providing her grades stay up. She has been attending the youth group at the New Life Church until RE starts at our Church. She wants to take voice lessons this year. I have inquired around a little for this and am waiting to see if this will be a possibility. She doesn't seem real interested in taking piano this year but is still palying the French Horn in band. Here are a few pictures of George and Henry.

Henry sleeping

George and his monster goose-egg
Drew and his boys

Two moose

Things are beginning to get back to normal. Henry had his first visit with the cardiologist and everything checks out really good. Dr. Hardy wants to monitor a few things over the next several weeks but feels confident we are close to being told we have a normal healthy boy. Henry went from 7 pounds 5 ounces when we left Seattle to 7 pounds 12 ounces at Dr. Hardy's office 4 days later. We will monitor Henry's weight gain but Dr. Hardy gave us the go ahead to exclusively nurse. A few other pictures on here - the moose from the real camera (much better picture), Drew and his boys, George and his latest attempt to land in the hospital (we actually did take him in to get checked - the swelling was scary), and Henry sleeping peacefully.