Chicken Noodle Surprise

While suprised that Matthew was semi-cooperative the other day at feeding time, Terri still had to ask, "which organ received more soup; the stomach or the epidermis?"

Anatomy of a Breathing Treatment

Terri captured this series of pictures depicting Matthew pretending to give himself a breathing treatment. We were amazed that he knew where to find the mouthpiece & aerosol can (purposely kept separate), how to insert the can, and the proper position over his mouth. A side story to this series of photos is that Matthew isn't allowed to climb on the couch! That is why he is standing there in delicious victory. He knows that Mommy is running over to scold him.

Matthew & the Mirror

Matthew was quite fascinated with the little boy in this mirror. This is our little travel trailer that we keep in Beaver, UT.

To all our Prayer Bears!!

Here's a cute little fella named Elijah that will be having open heart surgery tomorrow!

He has the same type fourfold heart defect that Matthew was born with ..... his mommy found Matthew's blog while looking for information on our hero, Dr. Frank Hanley. Here is Elijah's blog so you can go watch for updates tomorrow. Mommy has said they will try to update during the day.

We all know the power of prayer ... and this sweet family is struggling as we did. It's so hard to turn your precious baby over to the surgery team. We know that baby Elijah is in God's loving hands.

Grandma Sue's Visit

My mother flew in from California for Matthew's birthday party. She spent about a day visiting with Terri and me before hinting that we should feel free to leave the house while she got her Matthew fix. Grandparents are too funny.

Doggie Bath

Quixa needed a bath so I set up her shower station. Matthew came outside and started to laugh like we've never seen before. He found it hysterical that Quixa was in the bath tub.

Jumping in the Castle

We rented a jumping castle for all the kids (& parents) to enjoy. It was a smash hit!

The Cake

No child's birthday party is complete without the cake-covered face. Matthew is getting the hang of making a mess with his food. His brother, Casey, lent a hand as well.

Our Guests

Here is a collage of family & friends who helped us celebrate.

Happy 2nd birthday Matthew!

I can hardly believe it's been two years now ... but on the other hand, it also seems like AGES ago! It's been a wild ride.
In this picture, we had no idea of his heart defect... that came four days later.

Happy Birthday to our little miracle boy! Our little soldier boy. We are blessed!

Couple more cute pics of Magoo

Breakfast Anyone?

Since Matthew doesn't eat on his own, breakfast is like a Nascar pit stop. We sit him on our lap, administer his meds, pour some fuel into his tank, clean his windshield, and then give him the green flag!

A Ride in the Wagon

Grandma Wright took Matthew for a walk in his new Radio Flyer. He loves to go for a ride and sits in the wagon like a potentate in is chariot.

Open Invitation ~ Matthew's 2nd birthday

This is an open invitation to celebrate with us.

We are having a birthday bash for the boys on Saturday, May 12th.

Matthew's 2nd birthday is on the 10th and Mike's 36th birthday is on the 13th.

No gifts are necessary! Your presence is their present!! :-)

We are planning a 2 o'clock start time and it will go into the evening.

We will have food, drinks and cake.

Mike also ordered one of those bouncy things for kids to play on.

If you think you can swing by for a visit, please e~mail me for directions and RSVP so I can be sure to have enough food!! My e~mail is: tigggrr37@aol.com

Look Ma! No cavities!!

I took Matthew to see Dr. William Waggoner, a pediatric dentist this morning.

Matthew was a champ as usual ... and no cavities!! His back molars are coming thru.

It was very interesting .... the doctor and I sat facing each other ... our knees were touching.
Matthew had his bum on my lap and his legs around me with his head in the doctors lap.
I held his little arms down.

Matthew didn't even really fight us, he did cry though ... the doctor was able to check all of his teeth and even picked quite a bit of tartar off the front of his bottom teeth. That was probably the best look that I've ever had of Matthew's teeth. So at the dentist office, it's not such a bad thing when they are wailing with their mouth open!!

We will take him again in 6 months.

We were concerned about his teeth because he was premature and was on so many medications that first year of his life. At one point while at Stanford, he was on 19 different drugs.
His front baby tooth came in with a chip and the enamel was rough.
We have also been told that breathing treatments are bad for their teeth. Doctor said to wipe his teeth off after a treatment. He also said it was good that he has gaps between his teeth, that means he'll most likely have room for his permanent teeth and he won't get cavities beween the teeth.

He said that we will keep an eye on the 6 year molars, if the teeth are ever affected by medications it will be those. He said the chip in the front tooth could be because partly b/c he was premature and because he was intubated for 3 months.

Another wonderful doctor visit out of the way! Whew!!