My boys

I am the luckiest girl in the world. Look at these sweet boys of mine! I am so lucky to have them in my life, they make every day so wonderful and I love them so much!


Last week, I woke up feeling sick one morning. I tried to tough it out but ended up calling Derek for help. He missed his classes and came home to take Gage to his mom's house for the afternoon so Gage wouldn't be around me too much. Derek's little sister took the top picture of them taking a nap together that day, and the cat decided she wanted to be the top of the pyramid! And we took the bottom picture of Gage today. It was so cute, he was petting the kitty with his left hand (ok, really pulling on her hair)!

Gage had fun watching himself on the computer camera! He kept smiling big at himself so I would push the button to take the picture then it would start counting to 3... like I can get him to smile ON DEMAND for 3 seconds! Haha but he still was being so cute with it!

Well, this little guy turned 7 months last week, it is just crazy how time is flying! On his "7 month birthday" Tori, his physical therapist came over. Not the best therapy session to be honest... it was scheduled at 10, she was running a little late so she got there at about 10:15 which was fine, except for the fact that Gage was ready for his nap by 10:45! So... not long after that I just held him so he could sleep and she just explained what else we need to work on. Better luck next time, right?! Tori was really excited about the progress he has made since his surgery. She hasn't seen him sit on his own until then, so she was super excited about that. And we got a good laugh at his stubornness towards rolling over. It has to TOTALLY be on his terms... like... when he is laying on the couch, then decides to roll over... then he isn't on the couch anymore! Yes... terrible mom. But I'm happy to say that he did forgive me. :) So he finally decided to roll for her and she got excited and said "he's going to do it!" so he turned around really fast to see what she was excited about it! So she didn't get to see it. BUT I must admit, Derek and I are actually really happy that he doesn't roll all the time cuz that would just scare us at night. He still gets oxygen at night and I wouldn't be able to sleep because I would be afraid that the cord would be wrapped around his neck! K... I just read what I have typed so far and I am sorry that it is ALL OVER THE PLACE! One story to another! That's what I get for not posting for a while.

Then the next day, Kathy, Gage's nurse, came over. Really, I just always call her the nurse but she deals with nutrition, oral development, etc. And Laurie, I thought she was going to start Speech Therapy but aparently she has been doing it all along... With our EI program they won't actually send a ST until 18 months. She just works on tons of oral exercises for us to do, and works with feeding and those things. So sorry I am not much help on that one! But if you don't have someone doing that... I have really enjoyed her help, so it might be something you want to look into.

Now pause the music down at the very bottom of the blog so that you can hear this movie!! That is the best part!

So I've got another movie for you! Derek and I LOVE watching this. Gage does this new thing where he "Talks to the hand". I was getting Gage's bath water going, then I came back in to undress him and heard him doing it so I had to take advantage of the opportunity and get it recorded! I was quite surprised that he didn't get all camera shy! Then I just kept recording cuz he was being so cute!

Also, I just wanted to answer this question cuz I have been asked a couple times! Derek and I are both graduating in Accounting this semester... super exciting!! And Derek is also doing the masters program right now... I figured a bachelors degree is good enough for me! We only need one CPA in the family, right?! :)
AND GUESS WHAT!! Derek was looking on SUU's website and it said who will be the guest speaker at our commencement ceremony. Guess who it is going to be!! President Thomas S. Monson. I kid you not! I know this might sound dumb, but when he told me that I realized how happy I am that I decided to just tough it up and finish this semester instead of waiting one more. I think that will be one of the most fun memories for us as a family, and to have Gage there cheering us on, wow, I just got tears in my eyes thinking about that. I feel so lucky.

I love this!

Ok... Watch the movie and decide which one of them Gage likes best! I kept telling Derek that Gage does this but he wouldn't ever do it when he watched. Today, I put him in there and was ready with the camera. I just love it, it is always the yellow one and he just smiles soooo big, I don't know what it is!

Nothing too exciting has been going on around our house. Derek and I started school last Monday, so I have just been playing with Gage, going to classes, and trying to sneak in cleaning the house and doing homework during naps! I already can't wait for the semester to end... pathetic, I know.

Tori, Gage's physical therapist, comes over tomorrow. It has been 2 months since she has been over because of Gage's surgery and everything. I'm excited to get back into it again! And then we are starting speech therapy on Thursday... exciting!

Catch-up! Here we go...

Well, I guess it is time for me to play catch-up since I haven't posted for weeks! Not that I haven't wanted to... the holidays just sure have been busy! It has been awesome to spend so much time with family, but it makes for little down-time! Gage had lots of fun firsts these past few weeks, so Good Job Gage! We're proud of you! (I'll tell about them as I go...) So here are some fun Christmas pictures! I have so many but I tried to limit myself!

Christmas Eve, we went to Holly and Brent's house for our annual family party. Gage zonked out right when we got there, but once we decided to lay him down to eat, he decided he wanted to be a part of the party, too! Once he warmed up to everyone, he started showing off like he likes to. His first big accomplishment was his "first word"! Gage says MaMa! He started doing it just a couple days before Christmas. Derek says it doesn't count because he is just talking and doesn't know what MaMa means... but I am totally claiming the first word! :) He knows everyone thinks it is so cute, so he kept doing it for everyone at the party!

After the party, we all got to open our PJ's and then headed to bed!

Kody and Cherri got this cute puppy for Christmas, isn't he a doll!! His name is Teddy. I told Derek that as much as I would love to have a puppy, after seeing all the work he was, I think I'm okay without one!

Gage and Papa Jo. Gage got the fun rattle in his stocking! He loves it cuz it is really noisy!

Gage and Gramma Jill on Christmas morning

I think Gage really enjoyed just handing out with Grandpa and watching all of us open presents all morning! He seemed pretty content!

Oh, cool toy! Gage couldn't quite figure out the whole... open presents and there is a toy inside concept! But he sure got spoiled and had a great morning!

After spending the morning with my family, we headed back up to spend the afternoon with Derek's family. We opened presents and then went to Aunt Lora's house to visit a while. We were getting kind of nervous because the weather was getting bad and we were driving back to my parents house that night, but we decided to still stay and have dinner at Derek's mom's house. We thought about just staying the night and then driving back the next day, but since we left Gage's oxygen at my parents, that ended up not being an option since he has to have it every night! So we braved the storm and drove 40-55 mph all the way down! It was super scary, so I just sat in the back seat so I didn't have to pay attention to it and Derek could concentrate on driving! Gage and I sat in the back seat playing and... second fun accomplishment... Gage learned how to give hi-5! It is sooo cute, he kinda gives you this look and then lifts his hand up (or both, depending on the mood he's in!) and puts them on the palm of your hand and gets so proud! I just love it! And it was great entertainment to keep my mind off of the scary weather we were driving in!

The rest of the weekend we spent just hanging out and playing games and things. It was a ton of fun. Sunday we headed home so Derek could get back to work.

Tuesday morning, Gage had his 6 month appointment. He weighed 15 pounds 7 ounces, which I thought was great since he had gained 10 ounces in less than 2 weeks! But the doctor said he has dropped to a lot lower percentile then he usually is in so we need to try to keep his weight gain up. He is getting long though! He is 26 1/4 inches! The doctor was really impressed with him and all that he is doing. Every time we go for a well check, the doctor plays with him and then says, "yeah, his tone isn't low at all". So that is exciting! I have been wondering about the fact that he still doesn't want to roll from his back to his tummy but the doctor said that at this age, even for a typically developing child, it isn't a concern that he isn't rolling. So I was happy to hear that. Gage had to have blood drawn so they could check his thyroids. With Down syndrome, they tend to have a higher chance of problems there, so we have to check at 6 months, 1 year, and then every year after that. I was really excited cuz he only got pricked 2 times instead of the usual 5 or so!! He hated it though, I felt so bad! But the happy news is that the doctor called me and told me everything came back perfect, so I was thrilled to hear that!

On Wednesday, Derek decided we would go to Matt and Shari's for New Years. We had so much fun playing games and hanging out and talking with them! The have an adorable little boy named Justin. He is 2 months older than Gage and he is just so much fun! Every time I see him I can't believe how fast he is growing up!

I'll have to try to get pictures of Gage's last accomplishment because it is hilarious to watch! Gage will tripod sit by himself, but if I sit him up without his hands down, he rests his back against me a little for support. The other day, I wanted to see what he would do if I wasn't there to rest on, so I leaned back whenever he leaned back and he just kept using his tummy muscles and holding himself up trying to slowly lower himself until he leaned up against me. It might be hard to imagine, but it is so funny! It looks like he is doing Pilates when he does it! So hopefully he will learn to just use those tummy muscles to sit up instead of using them to try to find me to lean against!

Well... holy cow. I will be done and try not to play catch-up again! We hope your Christmas was wonderful and that you have a Happy New Year!!

Bring it on, 2009!!!

our 2 week check-up

Yesterday (Wednesday), Derek, Gage & I headed back up to Primary Childrens for Gage's 2 week check-up. It's already been 2 weeks, thats crazy! We just got a chest x-ray and EKG this time, no echo. I just had to post a picture of his chest x-ray though cuz I think it is INSANE!! Check out those wires holding his ribcage closed! Pretty cool huh! They are going to be there all his life, so his x-rays are always going to be extra cool! And we joke about taking him to the airport, hopefully the wires don't make the alarms go off! Maybe his scar will make them believe us or something... But Derek and I were excited cuz the x-ray tech was way nice to print us off pictures, we were so excited to see them since we were told we would be able to see the wires! Oh yeah, and check out the chub around his chin and arms, I love it! Ha! Anyways... away from the x-ray!
... The appointment went PERFECT! Gage weighed in at 14 pounds 13 ounces, so he is gaining back the weight he lost during surgery, even though he didn't loose much. The doctor came in and talked to us, telling us that his x-ray looks wonderful, his heart is the perfect size and everything looks exactly like they wanted it to. They also said that the EKG showed exactly what they expect to see after someone has just gone through heart surgery. We got to drop the Aldactone medication yesterday, and then we will have no more Lasix meds after one more dose in the morning! And Gage hasn't had any pain meds (which was only Tylenol anyways...) for a few days, so he is going to be sooo excited when mom stops squeezing the meds into his mouth completely! And another great thing... we got to drop the oxygen during the day and he just has to be on it at night!
I was gonna take some pictures of Gage's scar, since they took the little butterfly bandages off yesterday, but he is snoozing and I'm not willing to wake him up for a picture! :) So I will show them another time. I can't believe how good it looks already. Well, that about covers the whole appointment and we were really excited about how everything turned out. We don't have to go back for another 3 months! That is the longest we have EVER had between appointments so its gonna be weird not taking the long drive for a while! But that will be nice when school starts back up and everything...
Gage and I drove down to St. George this afternoon to stay with my parents for the night. Gage has been having a blast showing off his new-found energy and neverending smiles to everyone! He just LOVES all the attention and soaks it all in! My Grandma & Grandpa are coming into town tomorrow so we're excited to see them, since we don't get to very often.
That is our excitment for the past few days, I'm sure we will have more coming soon! I just can't wait for Christmas, it is going to be the best EVER to have Gage here to spend it with us!

Happy 1/2 Birthday Toadster!

Our little guy is 6 months old (well.. yesterday)!! I can't even believe it, it sure has flown by. During these 6 months, Derek & I have learned more than we ever thought possible from someone so small.
You are the greatest blessing we ever could have asked for, Gage. We are so happy that, after all you have been through, we still get to have you here with us. You never seize to amaze us. We love you Gage-Myster!

fiRsT SnOW

Well... at least for Gage! It has snowed a couple times this year, but we have been out of town every time, so today Gage got to see it for the first time! There's like 5 or more inches right now, but it is still going strong so I'm sure we'll be waking up to a good amount!

Gage LOVED the snow!!

Yeah, okay, not really! But at first he did!

It was a cold, snowy day outside so we just played lots inside! It was hard to get Gage's attention for the picture because he was glued to "The Grinch"!

sO GueSS wHAt ...

We are home!!

This morning the doctors came in, checked him out, and said, "k, are you ready to go home?" Of course!! Discharge went really quick, I went and grabbed his prescriptions, and we were off! Gage did such a good job in the car, slept the whole way home! He didn't act miserable at all, and even now at home he acts like he is feeling really good. I'm sure it feels good to get out of that bed more and get back to what he is used to.
Thanks so much to everyone for all the support through this journey we have been through this past week. We are so thankful everything went SO well and especially to be back home! We love you all, and you, Gage, are a CHAMP!!

wHAt a WoNDerFuL dAY!!

And I don't need to explain why!! Chest tubes and pace-maker wires went out this morning, yay yay!! Gage also got another synagis shot, which keeps him protected from RSV. We were VERY lucky to qualify for these shots because they come with a big price tag... somewhere between $1,500 and $2,000 PER SHOT, depending on weight, AND it is a monthly shot, not just a one time thing! Gage actually did really really well with this one compared to a month ago. He barely let out a wimper and they were done. I'm sure it helped that his daddy got to snuggle him up after it was done.
It felt so good to be able to hold Gage in our arms again today, but I must admit, a bit awkward! I was so afraid of hurting his chest, and you could tell it was hard for him to get comfortable. At least when I hold him, but Derek has been able to figure out how to hold him just right and he LOVES it. In the picture with Derek and Gage, you can kinda see on Gage's neck there is a sore there. He had a IV/monitor thing (hard to explain) but it monitored his blood pressure during surgery. Yesterday, Derek checked it out and he must have reacted to the tape and stuff because there is a yucky sore there. We have just been putting this stuff, kinda like nu-skin, but without the sting, on it to help it heal and not stick to itself. Its kinda hard though cuz of his rolley polley neck! But it hasn't been spreading and is starting to look a little better, so we are happy about that.

Our Little Hero - a little graphic, sorry...

I'm sorry if this picture seems a little graphic to anyone, I just wanted so show what a trooper this little guys is!! A little explaination of what they are to those who... luckily... do not know! The tiny white, black, and green cords stuck on to the little circles are just monitors to help read his heart beats and his breaths per minute. The big long line down his chest... well, my guess is that you can figure that one out!! There is a white cord leading to his diaper, that is the last chest tube he has in. It really doesn't go into his diaper, we just have it tucked in the velcro to make it so there is less grabbing options. Then there are 2 glass things.. those have pace-maker wires in them. The glass tubes just keep them all bunched up so that it is not so tempting for Gage to grab at! Our nurse just told us she doesn't think it is fair we still have that darn chest tube in so she made sure that we are first on the list early in the morning. They will come in and take the chest tube and the pace-maker wires out... then we can HOLD HIM!! Derek already called he gets to be first, but you better believe I will be anxiously waiting to be second!

Gage is such a sweetheart, he has been sneeking little grins at us this evening and we love it! Mostly he has done it for Gramma Jill and Papa Jo but Derek and I have been able to steal a few as well! Oh, he is my hero. Our sweet nurse, Amy, says that she thinks he should be the poster child for all little ones who come through here. This morning, she said, "everyone is talking about him as the baby who doesn't cry when he gets poked!" It was because they were trying (and failing... again) to get blood from him this morning and he would barely fuss! Everyone is so impressed by him, especially his mommy and daddy. We love you baby Gage!!