june via phone

Geez, aren’t iPhones convenient.  I can document everything, even if I don’t have my camera.  Here’s some June stuff I haven’t posted about yet that came from pictures off my phone. 

Hank’s new Superhero Cape courtesy of Heart Heroes.  Read about them here.  We love it!  They provide free superhero capes to children with Congenital Heart Defects (CHD). 

Hank is all over the house.  Help. 

Hank’s look-a-like.  Grandma Mary.  His guardian angel.

Hank loves going out in the wagon.  Mom does not love to pull him up the hills. 

We have been going to Pink’s to get shaved ice.  A lot. 

Hank’s new book “Riley’s Heart Machine”.  It’s about his heart block sister sister Riley.  Awesome.  Order it here.  You won’t regret it. 

Hank’s scar.  Dig it! 

The boys art projects for Father’s Day.  Hank worked really hard on his. 

Mama and Drew.  Enjoy this one, you won’t be seeing another pic of me for a long time. 

a sunny day

 

Look who came for a visit!  Yay.  We have missed Emily so much. 

We have been jumping for joy about it! 

What a fun girl she is!

Swinging was definitely a favorite today.  Even Hank used a big boy swing.  How fun. 

A nice sunny day.  

poppies

My friend Lisa asked me the other day if I was going to take pictures of my kids in the poppies in Mantua.  I had no idea there were fields of poppies in Mantua, but, she assured me there was.  So, on our way home from Salt Lake today, I made Steve make a pit stop.  Good thing I had my camera cause, she wasn’t kidding. 

 

 

There was already a path through the poppies, probably due to all the people there that go to take pictures.  On our way into the field, I had to double check with Steve that there were no snakes.  I don’t like snakes.  Apparently Drew doesn’t either.  After that, he kept asking in a really whiny voice if there were snakes in there.  Oops.  After a little bit of whining, Steve finally got Drew to smile for some pictures.

 

 

But not for all of them. 

It was hard to get pictures of Hank in the poppies, because they were so tall, and he isn’t. 

Daddy helped out with that. 

Such pretty flowers.  We might have to make a tradition of this (thanks Lisa)!

Hank wasn’t quite sure why Drew was touching his face.  Perhaps it’s something to eat? 

Look at Hank’s hand on his brother’s leg.  Aww. 

Maybe they’ll be buddies some day.  Hank isn’t sure.   

Seriously though, go check out the poppies.  You won’t regret it.

boom boom

Drew loves the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  There is a video made by Scholastic that puts the book to a song, and he really loves that.  So much that he can sing the entire book all the way through.  He did it for me on a video. 

Warning:  This video is long.  Like 4 minutes.  Sorry.  It’s cute though.  It’s also really shaky.  If Drew would hold still it wouldn’t be.  He’s not that sorry.  I am. 

 

 

H2O

Since we haven’t had Hank outside too much, we are trying to figure out things he can do outside.  Our big problem, is his tubing doesn’t go that far, so we have to try to find things that will keep him in a generalized area. 

Solution attempt #1:  water table.  You can see he’s very excited about it.

He actually likes it, but he’s just not so sure what to think.  Drew on the other hand, loves it!  He spent 2 hours outside with it yesterday.  Hank lasted about 25 minutes, which is pretty good for a little guy. 

I conclude that it was definitely worth it, and all you people should come over and play with us!

freedom!

We took Hank to the Pulmonologist at Primary’s last week.  He was scheduled to have a room air trial, to see how he did without oxygen on.  My goal was that his numbers would stay above 90 the entire time.  He did so good.  We turned off his oxygen about 15 minutes before his appointment and he stayed off the entire appointment (45 minutes total).  His pulse-oximeter did not beep once.  He stayed above 90. 

This probably doesn’t mean that much to you, but let me put this into some perspective.  When he came home from the NICU, he came on 1 liter of oxygen, which is a lot for a little guy like him.  His goal then was to stay above 88.  That was tough for him on 1 liter, we had to turn up his oxygen flow a lot.  Since then over the last 8 months, we have been able to turn him down and he has had an easier time keeping his numbers up. 

Anyway, we were hoping after this appointment that he would be above to transition to night time oxygen only, but not our luck.  Turns out, pulmonology wanted his numbers above 92 to do that.  Maybe next time!  We were so close though.  We have been given the go ahead to let him go without his oxygen here and there throughout the day.  What a nice break for Hank.  He has enjoyed it. 

hope

Last night after I got off work, we took the kids to Salt Lake to go to the zoo.  Hope Kids hosted Dream Night at the Zoo, and we decided to go.  You can read about Hope Kids here.  The boys had lots of fun, and both stayed up way past their bedtimes.  Thanks Hope Kids. 

This is pretty much how Hank spent the entire time.  Tired boy. 

splash

We tried out the new splash pad in North Logan.  Weather was nice, so the boys had a fun time.  It was Hank’s first time in a swimsuit. 

Sunscreen hair tradition.  It works great as a styling tool. 

Drew didn’t love getting wet this time.  I don’t think he loved the cold water.  He got wet enough though.  Steve had to coax him through the water a few times.  Glad I didn’t have to.

Hank started feeling a little free and decided to explore around a bit.  He found himself in a few spots he didn’t like so much.  I am a mean mama, but doesn’t he look so adorable when he’s upset?  (At least that’s what I keep telling myself).

Funny story.  There were a few young girls there (about 10 or 11).  They were asking me what happened to Hank.  I told them about his oxygen, his heart, and his pacemaker.  After I told them about his pacemaker, one of the girls said, “I like that idea in my head, it’s like Iron Man.  He’s going to grow up to be Iron Man.”  Made my day.