4/27/07: Day 287 (Fri.) We Have Teeth (sort of)!

Evan's two bottom teeth are cutting through his gums! Another milestone! We thought just one was coming in since we could feel it a few days ago...but both bottom teeth are peeking through. Evan was running a slight fever today, probably due to teething.
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Chronological age: 41 weeks and 0 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 1 weeks and 4 days
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4/24/07: Day 284 (Tues.) O.k...who does he look like?

The debate still rages on...who does Evan look more like? Here are pics all around the same age. You can vote using the comments. :-)

There's no argument from me that he has his dad's feet (you can't tell since Evan has shoes on in this pic).


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Chronological age: 40 weeks and 4 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 1 weeks and 1 days
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4/23/07: Day 283 (Mon.) Jumping for Joy!

Can a baby give himself "shaken baby syndrome"? Evan is a crazy-jumper..and this one was mild:


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Chronological age: 40 weeks and 3 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 1 weeks and 0 days
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4/21/07: Day 281 (Sat.) Walk America!

The Sierra Vista Walk America for the March of Dimes was held this morning at Veteran's Park. We walked up from home and met Stacy who was walking for Joey's granddaughter, Mya. Luckily, Evan's fever went away, so he was able to participate along with Sadie. Sadie had to do her typical, look-at-me yelp for the first part of the walk. She makes this yelp-bark-wail-thing that sounds like we're beating her...it's probably a dominance thing, anyway...very embarrassing!

The weather was sooo bad for a April morning in Arizona! There were rain clouds over towards post, so we kept our fingers crossed it would stay to the west of us. It was a crazy-wind day, so the temps were low...probably in the 50's with the wind...upper 40's (nippy)! T decided to wear shorts, so he froze during the walk on top of still having the nose/throat funk that he's had the past few days...what a trooper!

When we finished the walk, of course the sun decided to come out as you can see from the pics below. I won one of the gift baskets (sweet)...a basket full of movie-themed stuff (popcorn, candy, and 3 movies).


Dad and Sadie (Sadie was finally worn out a bit)


Mom and Evan (for those of you who haven't seen me in a while, yes I have braces, sexy I know for a 37-year old). I made Evan's shirt for him.


Evan knew better and hibernated in his stroller, you can see his eyes were smiling.

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Chronological age: 40 weeks and 1 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 0 weeks and 4 days
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4/20/07: Day 280 (Fri.) Big Thanks!

Thanks to everyone who sponsored Evan in Sierra Vista's Walk America event that will take place tomorrow. Over $400 was raised! We'll be walking with friends who are walking for Mya (Joey P's granddaughter who was born at 24 weeks in Phoenix). She is looking great! Joey and Deb will be walking with Justine up in Phoenix, so you can see pics from that event on Joey's blog (listed on the right side of our blog).

Evan came down with a fever today, so fingers crossed he will be o.k. for the walk tomorrow!

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Chronological age: 40 weeks and 0 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 0 weeks and 3 days
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Making Movies

I'm experimenting with a site I ran across on one of the preemie discussion boards (www.onetruemedia.com). Click here for Evan's first video montage:

4/17/07: Day 277 (Tues.) Chowing Down at Vinny's

Two soccer buds of mine were down visting today. They recently moved to Massachusetts to take teaching jobs. They were on spring break and came down to visit just as the weather has been miserable in New England. All the soccer chicks met at our regular place, Vinny's NY Pizza. Evan's daycare is right around the corner, so I stopped in after picking him up. It was the first time Kim and Sue had seen him. Evan had fun being passed around to everyone. Sunny even rocked him to sleep for a bit. He settled in on Dolores, sleeping against her shirt that had a waffle pattern on it. The poor kid had a waffle pattern all over his face when he woke up. :-)

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Chronological age: 39 weeks and 4 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 0 weeks and 0 days
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4/16/07: Day 276 (Mon.) Checking In With Dr. E

Since Evan still had that yucky sounding chest congestion, we took him to see Dr. Ettinger as a precaution to make sure it wasn't pnuemonia. Dr E had a medical student helping out in the office and we saw him first. Dr. E cam in later and reassured us that he was fine. We have to keep suctioning his nose out with saline drops and that bulb-sucking-thing. Evan hates when we do it, but I think he is happy afterwards since he can breathe a bit better. We don't get a whole lot of stuff out of his nose, but it must be enough. Dr. E is also not concerned with Evan's slow weight gain, so we'l keep doing what we've been doing. We're still continuing to give him the Dimetapp with Albuterol 3 times a day. Dr. E hopes that will keep asthma from developing. He also thinks that last Synagis shot will be it for this season. It depends on his weight if he will be eligible to get the Synagis shots this fall.

We found out Dr. E is taking a sabbatical to study marine biology down in Mexico. He has another doctor coming in (who used to practice in Gainesville) to cover him while he's gone. He said he isn't retiring...but will continue to work 3 or so days a week and golf the other days when he gets back.

**Weight check: 13 lbs. 15 oz.**
**Height: 24 inches**

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Chronological age: 39 weeks and 3 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 4 weeks and 3 days
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4/15/07: Day 275 (Sun.) Race For the Cure

Evan completed his first 5K today! We participated in the Race For the Cure up in Tucson. Every year the Thetas have a team...about 14 of the girls from the UofA chapter walked with us. Evan was an absolute doll the whole day. He even sat through a recruitment workshop at the Theta house with no complaints.
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Chronological age: 39 weeks and 2 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 4 weeks and 2 days
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4/14/07: Day 274 (Sat.) 9 Months Old!

Guess who is 9 months old today? Can you believe how fast time is flying?
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Chronological age: 39 weeks and 1 day (9 Months)
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 4 weeks and 1 day
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4/13/07: Day 273 (Fri.) Last Synagis Shot (Hopefully)

Evan had his last Synagis shot of the season (fingers crossed). The appointment took a bit longer than we expected since it took a while to get a good pulse oximeter reading on him. The highest reading they could get was 95%...which isn't great, but enough. Evan is still wheezing a bit from that first sickness he had two weeks ago which may be the reason for his oxygen saturation level to be so low. We still have some leftover Albuterol ampules that we use in the nebulizer and have been giving him treatments once a day. The nurse told us to call for an appointment to see Dr. Ettinger on Monday if he is still sounding bad. I have a feeling with Evan's lung issues when he was born, the nebulizer treatments may be a daily thing through the spring allergy season.

**Weight Check: 14lbs. 0oz.** This is sort-of concerning to us since Evan hasn't gained a whole lot of weight in the last 2 months. He's only gained about 1/2 pound in 2 months.

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Chronological age: 39 weeks and 0 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 4 week and 0 days
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4/12/07: Day 272 (Thurs.) Picture Day!

Today was picture day at Evan's daycare. It was hard trying to decide what to dress him in since he has so many cute clothes. I packed a few options in his bag for his teacher to sort out since I wasn't sure what colors would look best against the background. When I dropped him off, one of the other infant teachers told me I could take Evan right over to get his pic taken since the photographer was already set up. So...I had to change him into his outfit, which agitated him from the get-go. I took him to the photographer and Evan was just not in the mood to have his picture taken at 0730 in the morning. The photographer said the teachers can bring him back over later, so it wasn't a big deal.

Well, I pick him up in the afternoon and his teacher said they got his picture taken, she said he wasn't exactly smiling, but he wasn't crying either. As for his picture-outfit...right before they were going to take him over for the pic, he sneaked a pee on his outfit as he was getting a diaper change. He ended up getting his pic taken in the romper-outfit I sent him to school in...it's not a bad outfit...just not what I had planned. We'll see how the pic turns out!

So for now...Evan is not a glamor baby!

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Chronological age: 38 weeks and 6 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 3 week and 6 days
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4/11/07: Day 271 (Wed.) Slept Through the Night!

Second night in his crib and he slept the whole night! I had to wake him up in the morning! We're getting a nighttime routine down where we listen to music in his room and get his last bottle in. I was anticipating a cry-session when I put him in the crib...but instead, he rolled on to his side and went right to sleep!

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Chronological age: 38 weeks and 5 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 3 week and 5 days
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4/10/07: Day 270 (Tues.) A Milestone!

Guess what Evan did?? He slept in his crib the whole night last night. I couldn't have been so lucky to have him sleep through the night...he did wake at midnight, 2am and 3am. I gave him a mini-bottle at 2am and he went back to sleep. I put one of those baby mattress wedges under the mattress so he could sleep a little more upright due to his congestion, but the boy insisted on rolling himself down to the bottom of the crib. In the morning I found him at the bottom of the crib with his blanket over his head. I guess I have to stop worrying about SIDS so much since I can't control him pulling the blanket over his head.

Just this morning, Evan kept crying every time I went out of his sight. His teacher says it just that time in his development...the whole separation-anxiety thing. Great! Make me feel even worse about putting him in daycare! He had an o.k. morning when I dropped him off...we propped him up on a Boppy pillow to keep him from falling backward (trying to keep the head injuries to a minimum). He's doing really well sitting up with his back supported...but once he starts leaning forward, he can't help but slump over.

The refrigerator conked out also and this morning T had to throw pretty much everything out of the fridge. He did manage to save his Dos Equis Amber 12-pack (some things have priority). Finally a bit of luck our way, it was just the relay switch on the fridge and not the compressor. It was probably caused by a power surge, which we have a lot here.

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Chronological age: 38 weeks and 4 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 3 week and 4 days
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A Rare Photo-Op

I snapped a very rare photo today...Max and Sadie both on the couch together. This couch is usually Sadie's domain since Max isn't too keen in getting up and down on the couch anymore. This was his favorite couch when he was a bit more spry.

4/9/07: Day 269 (Mon.) We're Melting!

Another case of the Mondays for Evan...the weekend just knocks him off schedule. He had a major puke incident after I set him in one of the bouncy chairs. I managed to catch most of it in a burp cloth, but still had to change his outfit. When I picked him up in the afternoon, he was in another different outfit. This time he had a minor poop-blowout. Thank goodness today is the last day for his antibiotics.

First it was the woodpecker...who we think has given up on pecking into our house...and now the refrigerator! Sunday night I noticed the items in the freezer had condensation on them. Everything was starting to thaw! Aaargh! We turned the temp down in the freezer hoping that would help, but no. Now today, the refrigerator is feeling relatively warm. T called the Sears guys and he can be out tomorrow to fix it (of course we're out of the warranty period)!
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Chronological age: 38 weeks and 3 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 3 week and 3 days
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4/8/07: Day 268 (Sun.) Join Evan's Team "Warrior 06"

You can join Evan's Walk America team for the March of Dimes by following this link:

 

http://www.walkamerica.org/404493

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Chronological age: 38 weeks and 2 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 3 week and 2 days
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4/7/07: Day 267 (Sat.) Yeah, I Got An Egg, Big Deal!

This morning was the annual Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by Sierra Vista Parks and Leisure. It was held at Veteran's Park, which is a few blocks away from our house. Evan was decked out in his Aloha t-shirt and went incognito in his shades. He was awake most of the time watching people go by. As expected, it was a huge turnout. We ran into a few people from work and even Evan's teacher Miss Jenny. Although Evan couldn't get out there and get an egg, Dad picked out a Gator blue egg for him. As you can see, Evan was thrilled!

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Chronological age: 38 weeks and 1 day
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 3 week and 1 day
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4/6/07: Day 266 (Fri.) Ladies Love Evan!

Thought you all would get a grin from Evan's latest pic. T snapped this this morning before we headed out to daycare. He didn't get to wear it all day due to a poop-accident later in the morning...darn that antibiotic! Evan's teachers thought he was too cute.

Hard to believe Evan's 38 weeks old...he'll turn 9 months next weekend. In a baby book I have it says that a 38-weeker should be 19.75 pounds and 28.5 inches long...ummm...we're waaay below that! O.k...flip backwards in the book to a 28-weeker...hmmm...16.5 pounds and 26.75 inches. We're still below that and slowly catching up. Evan weighed a bit less than 14 pounds at his doctor's appointment last Thursday.

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Chronological age: 38 weeks and 0 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 3 week and 0 days
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4/5/07: Day 265 (Thurs.) It's Just a Golf Match!

According to Evan's dad...today is a very special day. It's not due to any milestone Evan has hit or anything exciting from work...it's the first day of "The Masters Tournament"... and you have to say it like "toooornment" to get the correct southern drawl. T is in heaven being able to watch the telecast in high definition. I say, it's just a golf tournament for goodness sake (which is blasphemy to T). ;-)

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Chronological age: 37 weeks and 6 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 2 week and 6 days
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4/4/07: Day 264 (Wed.) Round Two

Evan had a good day today! It's always a good thing when I see him at the end of the day dressed in the same outfit I dropped him off in! That meant no throw-up episodes. I don't want him to be known as the pukey-kid in daycare!! I think the medication he is taking is helping, he doesn't sound so raspy anymore.

So, you may be wondering how the net-contraption worked out? Well, woodpeckers are pretty clever I guess. He discovered the other side of the fireplace has the same little step-ledge as the original side he started on...so he decided to start pecking on the other side! T made the same net-thing on the other side after using roof patching cement to patch the hole. This second hole was not as deep as the first one, so he caught it in time.



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Chronological age: 37 weeks and 5 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 2 week and 5 days
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4/3/07: Day 263 (Tues.) Round One

A story I forgot to tell yesterday (I had to save something to talk about for today). I ended up playing hooky from work on Monday...a few reasons...1)The house needed a good cleaning...2) T forgot to put my work laptop in my car so I had to run home to get it after driving to work...and 3) I had to errands to do like get Evan's new medications at Walgreens. I was mad about having to drive back home to get the laptop, and I had forgotten about a co-worker's birthday lunch at Applebee's; so I stopped by the luncheon and then went home to clean.

Anyhoo...as I was cleaning, I kept hearing this hammering sound. It sounded like it was coming from the backyard of my neighbor's house. It went on for while, then it would stop...it sounded like they were hammering on their outside shed. After a while I walked out back in the yard and I see a bird flying away from the side of the fireplace. It turns out it was a woodpecker boring into the outside corner of the fireplace! In the seven years we have lived here, we have never had a woodpecker! After I went back inside, it would keep coming back and I would run out to scare it.

When T got home today (Tuesday), he constructed a net-thing to keep the bird away from the hole. Not the prettiest thing in the world, but it should keep him away from making the hole deeper. Note the tennis ball stuck in the hole so you can see the size of the hole he made.



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Chronological age: 37 weeks and 4 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 2 week and 4 days
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4/2/07: Day 262 (Mon.) Check-up With the Doc

Evan had his check-up with Dr. Ettinger this morning. Evan was sporting his Gator outfit since Dr. E is also a Gator alum like his dad. His chest sounded much better than it did on Thursday, but his congestion has moved up into his nose. We have to start using saline spray and then suctioning his nose out really well. That's something we know Evan will just love!!

We don't have to do the albuterol nebulizer treatments anymore, but instead Evan has to take Dimetapp with Albuterol added into the syrup three times a day (it tastes like grape, yum). He may have to take this for a while, but it's fine to take long term according to the doc. Evan still has to finish out his antibiotics until next Monday. We thought Evan would get out of the office without having a shot, but alas, another shot, this time in his chunka right thigh. This shot is to help make sure he doesn't develop pneumonia. We had the option of an oral treatment over the course of a few days, or the one-time shot; so blame mom and dad for this one!

No return visits until his Synagis shot at the end of next week. Hopefully that will be the last shot for the season. He'll start back up in the fall again. His 9-month well-baby check up will be on May 1st (even though he turns 9-months on April 14th).
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Chronological age: 37 weeks and 3 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 2 week and 3 days
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4/1/07: Day 261 (Sun.) Sadie's Birthday!

On almost all the videos you usually can catch a glimpse of Sadie, our other crazy pup. We aren't exactly sure when her birthday is since she was a pound-pup, so we guesstimate it to be April 1st (April Fools Day). Pretty fitting for her. She is about 4 years old today (so we think)....still acts like a pup.

Ev-man is doing much, much better...still hating the nebulizer treatments. No more fever; getting his appetite back. He helped to cheer the Gators on to the NCAA championship game last night!

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Chronological age: 37 weeks and 2 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 2 week and 2 days
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