Holy cow, it's been a while.  Not sure where to start.  We had a rough patch back in 2009 and 2010, and I want to update people on what can come from the rough starts and GREAT NURSES and DOCTORS.  Jack is now in the 1st grade and thriving.  He is healthy and smart and shows no complications from being born at such an early age.  We also now have a second boy, Abe, who was born on time and is 3 years old.  Not a day goes by that I don't think the women and men of the NICU at Kaiser Roseville, that worked so hard to make sure my Jack enjoys the life he now has.  Someday when he looks back upon his life and finds these words, I'm hope he's proud of the parents he had and the life he's led.

2013 Here We Come

Well, it's the end of another great year (though not much blogging).  We are really enjoying life out in rural Oklahoma, especially young Jack.  He has all the room he needs to ride his tiny 4 wheeler places, has a new trampoline for jumping (and wearing him out) plus an entire ranch to go explore.  December has been a very fun month for our family Jack turned 3, we had a very nice Christmas, and Jack experienced his first snow and sledding.

We have had our share of visitors as well.  My parents were out in November for about a week and they got to spoil Jack the entire time.  Hopefully they can come back soon, or we can make out to California for a nice visit.

We hope that everybody finds themselves in as good health and spirits as we are.

Happy Fall Time

Since it's been a few months I figured that I might put up a couple pictures.  I forget that there are people that don't monitor the Facebook and the pictures I put up there.  Just a quick update to let all know that the family is doing quite well.  Jack has become the little chatterbox. usually you can catch him talking about coyotes or what dog is his favorite.  He is very quickly approaching his third birthday.....he's getting old.  We are hoping that Grandma and Grandpa from California are going to make it out to visit very soon, and then it's time to gear up for Christmas.

I Took A Vacation

Hello internet land.  It sure has been a while since I've posted any kind of update on the page.  We have been out in Oklahoma for just over a year now and really like it, Jack especially.  He has all the room to run, gets to take four-wheeler rides, pet horses and go swimming (with floaties).  Last we took all Jack's measurements he was 46 pounds and 3 feet tall.  The kid is solid, if he got a running start he would bowl you over.  He also is talking a mile a minute now and has full understanding of the workings of an iPad, iPhone or any other hand held device.

All for now, hopefully I'll put in an update before sixth months pass.  Byyee

Merry Christmas Everyone

Well, it's official.  We now have a two year old boy running the house.  On December 5th Jack turned two.  He had a nice little party and even got to spend it with his California Grandparents.  They flew out for about a week.  It was good to see them and Jack really liked their visit.  Over the last month we took Jack to the Tulsa Aquarium and to see Santa at the Bass Pro Shop.  He loved the aquarium, especially the turtles.  Every fish he saw was named Nemo....I can't remember him ever watching that movie enough to know what Nemo was.  Now aside from cleaning all his toys every day we are gearing up for a run at Christmas, and looking to clear out some of his old toys.  Hopefully we can donate a few to his little cousin Hank.  So, until next time...buh bye.

On Into October.

Hi folks. Hard to believe that fall is here, and it's October already. Things are going well, Jack is really growing up fast. He has a few words he says clearly and most that you can make out given the situation he's using them. Also, he's sure to let you know if you've got it right or wrong. He has developed a liking for Elmo and tigers, he has a little stuffed tiger in his bed and sometimes after we put him to bed at night he will lay in there and growl at his tiger. Running is also becoming a staple of his. He's not very good at it, and has gotten a couple scrapes and bumps when his body gets ahead of his feet. Right now we are gearing up for a quick visit to California. It will be just Jack and me coming out, we are going to try to see as many people as we can, but only have limited time and transportation. I guess that's the update for now, thanks to everybody that continues to check in here, and I'm sorry I forget to update the blog for such long periods of time.

Sorry 'Bout the Wait

     It sure has been a while since I got around to posting an update here.  We haven't really been busy, I've just been procrastinating.  Everything is going well for us....except this crazy heat wave.  I think it's been about 30 days in a row of 100+ temps.  Not that Jack minds.  He just goes outside and play in his kiddie pool, the sprinkler or gets Mary or I to take him into the big pool.  He is trying to form a vocabulary now, he's really good at animal and vehicle sounds, and working on please, cookie, up and some others.  Mary is looking at getting him into day care at least once a week, just so he can socialize with other kids.  He had a wellness check up and his last round of immunizations.  He is doing very well health wise.  He is in the 60% for his weight and 30% for height (not adjusted to the 3 months premature).  Now that he is up and running now, it's getting harder to keep up with him, thankfully he loves his tree swing and will sit in that for a while and give us a break.

On the Move

Well, folks, we are all settled into our new home on the range.  It's nice to be out of the city and back to some open spaces.  Jack really loves getting outside and playing in his sandbox, getting dirty, then washing it off in his water table toy.  He likes getting out and about in his wagon (it's always nice to have a chauffer) and if somebody doesn't get him out the door by 10am he's throwing a fit and banging on the front door.  All animals on four legs are now doggies to him....he may even be calling the chickens doggies as well, I'm not sure.  Also just the other day he decided he wanted to walk, and hasn't stopped....except to sleep.  Everything is going very well.  We made it through the big storms last week and hopefully it's getting to the end of crazy weather season.

A Whole New World

     Well, we have made the move.  We are all officially Okies.  Mary, Jack and I took a 1700 mile trip from Sacramento to Hanna, OK.  It's great to be out in the wide open where Jack has acres and acres of room to roam.  My Mom and Dad also made the trip, Dad drove Mary's car out and Gregg drove the big ole U-Haul.  My Mom and Mary flew out a couple days later, but it wasn't a fun trip due to some unforseen and very crappy illnesses.  We had a great Easter with everyone out here and them Mom and Dad flew home.  We are all pretty much settled in to the new house and we're just trying to get organized and all out equipment running.  Jack really loves it out here, with all the places he can explore and the dirt he can dig in.

Just a Few Videos

Jack playing with his bull dozer.

Jack in his bedroom.

Jack getting a haircut.

 

Jack eating some ice cream.

Danicing to The Beatles

Big Boy

Well, it's been about 3 weeks since the last post.  Jack has been busy; took a trip to Covelo, went to the doctor, and is now hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa at our house.  We got a bit of good news on his last doctor trip.  The nurse told us that he was now big enough (almost 26 lbs) that he no longer need to get his Synagis shots for RSV.  That is great news, because we thought he would need the shots until at least May.  I suppose nobody is more happy than Jack since he doesn't have to get anymore of those stupid shots.

A couple of weeks ago Jack and I journeyed up to Covelo and stayed a couple days with Grandma and Grandma Passalaqua.  We just hung out and had a good time.  Jack got to go see some buffalo and a herd of elk.  Of course Grandma and Grandpa had a great time and spoiled the little guy the entire time.  Right now they are over at our house "helping us out" with some babysitting, because Mary is out in Oklahoma for her sister's baby shower.

One Year at Home

Sorry that's it's been a month since the last post here (well for those that check in regular, or semi-regularly).  As of February 18th Jack had been out of the NICU and home with us for one year.  We are very glad to say he is still doing very well, and hasn't had to go back to the hospital except for scheduled appointments.  We haven't been up to much with the rain and cold, just hanging out at home and taking occasional little trips out and about.

Gettin Some Hairs Cut

It sure is hard to believe that it is almost February, and that our little guy is 14 months old.  I'm not sure the exact date, but around the 18th of Feb. is when we first brought Jack home.  I'm sure we'll celebrate somehow....perhaps throw some spaghetti around the kitchen or run frosting on our faces.  Jack's chinfection has dramatically shrunk in size, and is just a tiny bump on the chin.  His doctor said that he may have some scar tissue in there that will take a month or so to go away.  It's so nice to have him back to full health, he is just a way happier baby.

Last weekend Mary and I took Jack to the Cool Cuts place for his first haircut.  Jack's hair was all a mess, he was well on his way to having a baby-mullet, or becoming a hippy!!  I was concerned he would scream and cry because the only two times he been around hair clippers (big and small) he was very unhappy.  The opposite was true.  He sat in his fire engine chair and calmly got his hair trimmed up, and styled into a faux-hawk or whatever.  I think he just liked being around all those other kids and watching all the people.

Recovery

Welcome back to those who still check in with Jack....that is whenever I post new updates. Jack's chin has been healing nicely since they drained the infection and gave him the new antibiotics. He no longer looks like somebody glued a giant red extension on his face. The wound is now nothing more than a bump at the bottom of his chin, and the redness is pretty much all gone. He is also back to his normal happy self. It seems that the chinfection made him understandably cranky (I know I would be). Yesterday he went to stay with Cousin Penny up in Applegate. I'm sure they're both having a great time....it's been over a month since Penny has gotten to babysit him and I'm sure they have some catching up to do. We are just glad the infection is almost gone and Jack is almost back to 100% healthy. Also, for those interested I put a pic of his chinny chin chin in this group so you can get an idea of what it looked like.

Chinfection update

Yesterday morning I got a wake up knock from Mary said she needed help. Turns out that Jack's chin boil thing had popped. No trauma, he was just playing in the living room and it opened up. After a bit of cleaning him up and Mary talking to the advice nurse on the phone we made yet another trip to Kaiser...ER again. The doctor inspected his chin and decided the best course of action was to drain some of the fluid inside. It seemed like it took forever, they had to restrain him with a blanket and then stick a needle in his chin. I chickened out and waited outside the room, but Mary stayed in with him and toughed it out. After a bit Jack calmed down from his crying and he got a big band aid for his chin. He is still on the antibiotics but the chin bump is very much smaller and looks like it's starting to get better. Tomorrow he goes back in for his pediatrician to take a look at it, then hopefully we can stay away from Kaiser for a while.

Chinny Chin Chin

Just an update about Jack and his poor infected chin. After 9 days of antibiotics Jack's chin hadn't gone down as we'd hoped. So we went back out to the doctor. The new diagnosis is Jack has a type of staph infection and he's been put on stronger antibiotics. It's been hard to tell if his chin is going down, but he's only been on the new medicine for one day. Other than his chin all seems OK. No fever or any other problems, and we are keeping our fingers crossed that things improve. The next step would be a visit to the head and neck specialist, which would probably lead to a more invasive treatment. Everyone keep their fingers crossed for our little guy and hope that he gets better on this new medicine.

Happy 2011

Hello all. Happy New Year to everyone and we hope your holidays were great. It's been a little bit since the last post and we've been busy. After Jack's birthday we've had a couple doctor appointments (everything is going great), and a nice trip half way across the country. Oh yeah and a trip to the ER after Jack fell/slid forward then hyperventilated and kind of passed out. I wasn't in the house to see what all went down, but Mary was freaking out so we called 9-1-1 and then took him to the ER. Apparently I did the same thing when I was little and it's pretty common. Jack was fine and had a great time meeting all the new people, from firefighters to nurses and doctors.

We all went out to Oklahoma for Christmas. The flights both ways were pretty good. Jack got a little fussy, but no big out breaks of crying or yelling. He had a great time getting to see all his Oklahoma family. He also wasn't lacking for gifts and being spoiled. We brought back a suitcase full of new clothes and toys for him, plus Grandma Christi had to ship an additional box to us.

So now we're back in Cali and enjoying what has been a wet start to the new year. Jack did get an infection, we're not sure how, in a node under his chin. Poor little fella looked like he had Jay Leno's chin. It hasn't seemed to bother him, and the swelling and redness has gone down with his antibiotics. Hopefully we have seen the last of the hospitals for at least 5 months.