Celebrate!

Just because we like to do things "big",we thought we would combine Father's Day, Michael's Birthday and Owen's (very early) Birthday all into one fun-filled weekend!

We had been planning on having Owen's party back home at the end of June (yes, still early!) because we thought that would be Michael's last free weekend before starting residency. Then, Daddy got his schedule, and it wasn't pretty. So we made a few last minute decisions and pulled off a fun party with lots of friends, family and fun! Unfortunately Mommy didn't get to plan out all the extravagant details that went in the first party. (That would be baking over 4 dozen cupcakes and making a ridiculous amount of cake pops!) BUT, I think Owen still had fun. Just don't tell him his cake was from Wal Mart! :) (Although it was quite delicious!)

We were getting a little hot here...time to swim!

Marlee and Pops were gracious enough to let us "borrow" their backyard and pool for the party. Of course, my Dad, the cleaner had everything in tip-top shape, along with a freshly mowed yard, compliments of Uncle Will. :)

We had lots of family and friends come to wish our sweet miracle boy a happy day! Thank you to those who were able to make it...Owen is still enjoying checking out his new gifts!

We were able to visit with most of our family, as we won't be able to return home for a while. Apparently being a doctor comes with a demanding schedule! Not to mention we will be adding another member to our family as soon at 6 weeks! (Delivery is yet to be determined, but could possibly go at 39 weeks!)

We celebrated the wonderful men in our lives on Father's Day. Pops, being the "chef" he is whipped up a yummy dinner and we had a nice relaxing night by the pool. Since Dr. Daddy is so great, he got a double dose....Father's Day and his 27th Birthday on the same day!

Before our trip home, we did a little exploring in our new area and made a trip to the Butterfly Garden at Eden Park in Cincinnati. The park itself is gorgeous, overlooking the river and the conservatory where the butterflies are held was just breathtaking! It was a bit hot inside, so Owen didn't have quite as much fun as we had hoped, but being surround by thousands of butterflies was just too fun to pass up!

Owen had some very important testing done today, to check up on that crazy bladder of his. :) All reports are good! We are going to stick with our current schedule of cathing every 4 hours, and using a Foley catheter for 8 hours overnight. The testing showed improvement in his native left kidney! He previously had the highest level of reflux from his bladder back to his kidney on this side. The reflux has now slowed down, is only intermittent and when his bladder is overfilled. The new kidney only received a small amount of reflux when the bladder was too full. This was important to know so we could see if our current cathing regimen was emptying his bladder before it gets too full.

Owen's bladder refluxed when filled with 175mL of fluid. Our doctor told us that a "normal" 30lb kid would only hold around 100mL of fluid. We chart all of our caths and weigh each wet diaper. We are cathing before he reaches 175mL and he is also wetting diapers in between. All that to say....he's doing great! As long as we don't let his bladder overfill (which it's not) then we don't have to worry about reflux! Yay! Thank you, thank you for your prayers for Owen. Please continue to pray that the Lord will strengthen and stretch Owen's bladder.

Aunt Carrie's kidney continues to be happy and working amazingly well in it's new home. Our nephrologist even commented at our last visit just how stable Owen's labs have been. We go each Friday for labs and nephrology clinic. Out of the past 6 visits, for 5 of them Owen's creatnine has been .29 (4 of them right in a row!). This is the level our doctors monitor to watch for rejection. We were told it's very rare to be so consistent, but then again when your a miracle like Owen, we are always expecting God to reveal Himself in mighty ways!

Thanks again for checking on our little mischievous man. He's become quite the speed crawler, and is pulling up and literally getting into anything and everything! He is enjoying life and it is such a joy to watch him thrive and grow!

Oh Moving...how I Loathe You....

Well, we've made it. We closed the book on our time in Lexington and are starting our new adventure here in Northern Kentucky. Don't get too comfy though, this time next year: Tampa bound!

Moving in general does not excite me. It reminds me of just how much "junk" I have accumulated and need to get rid of. However, I do love a good clean out/organization party! Hopefully this move has let me get out all my "nesting" tendencies for this pregnancy. I'll say that moving itself can be stressful enough, moving with a toddler...not easy! (Not to mention waddling through the third trimester of pregnancy!) And next year...we will have two babies accompanying us on our move. Start praying now. ;)

We are all settled in and are enjoying meeting new, friendly neighbors and relaxing at the lovely pool! We've "noodled" around some local spots and introduced our furry boys to their new dog park.

All in all, we are so grateful for our friends and family who stepped up in helping us with our move and we are thinking this new place isn't so bad after all!

Last Week...don't worry it's all put away now! :)

He was a very good helper. :)

Owen is LOVING his new room!

The faster, the better!

Splashin around with Dad :)

Checking out the new dog park!

We found a turtle on our walk....someone was excited!

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support for Owen and our family. Owen is doing amazing. He is (speed) crawling everywhere and getting into anything and everything he can find! His zest for life is so fun to watch. Everyday is a new adventure for him and he welcomes each day with the biggest grin! We are meeting our new physical therapist tomorrow and hope to get both speech and PT started soon. We are going to hold off on OT for the time being. When our OT in Lexington discharged Owen, she felt that he was actually advanced (!) in her department and for now would benefit from getting extra PT time, as he is just so desperate to walk! We have noticed Owen starting to bear more weight on his legs, and actually be able to lock his knees to hold himself up with assistance. This is SO huge, as he has never been able to bear weight, and now he's got 30lbs of weight to hold up!

We have met a major milestone since moving that I should report...it's more of a "Mommy Milestone", and it's a big one! Owen is officially sleeping in his crib, in his room, all night! Many of you know that Owen didn't make the adjustment to sleeping in his crib until close to 16 months. He loved his pack n play, swing and rock n play sleeper. However, all of these "contraptions" were in Mommy and Daddy's room, right next to Mommy's side of the bed. He transistioned quite well to sleeping in his crib, but I never thought I would be able to sleep without him in my room. We decided the move would be the best time to transistion Owen Mommy to sleeping apart. It wasn't easy. For one of us....I'll let you guess who. :) So, Owen has been snoozing away while I'm awake starting a the monitor, or going to check on him. It's a big step for this attached Mommy! :)

Owen's labs continue to be perfect. :) And his ultrasounds show and a happy, working kidney! He has some big tests coming up on June 18 so we will appreciate prayers and will keep you updated!

As far as the rest of the family goes, Mommy and Abel are growing like crazy! I was blessed to be able to go back to the high risk group of doctors who delivered Owen at Good Sam in Cincy. We are coming down to the homestretch! Single digit countdown! I'm 32 weeks and will likely not go past 39. We are so excited to meet this crazy, kicking, squirming little guy! Michael officially starts residency on July 1, but will be going for orientation things in the upcoming weeks. I'm afraid Owen and I may go through withdrawals when he goes back, we have so loved having him at home with us!

Stay tuned for more updates on our sticky, summertime boy! :)

Have a Laugh!

While on our vacation Owen and Uncle Will became big buddies. Mainly because Uncle Will would play Owen's all time favorite peek-a-boo game for hours! We captured a bit of one game and thought our friends would enjoy. It's okay if you get the hiccups from laughing along. :)