Excuse my drool...

Excuse my drool...



I can almost stand by myself...


My hand tastes so good...

Surgery Day!

Evan's surgery went well today...it was a very long day! We were on the road after 3am and actually got there a little less than an hour early. We got him checked in to the surgery center about 0645. He didn't get taken back into the pre-op room until close to 0800....so we had to distract him as much as possible so he wouldn't remember that he was hungry. One of the nurses chnaged him into a little Looney Tunes themed surgical gown.

The anesthesiologist (Dr. Dupuy) came out and talked us through what he was going to do. He was first going to give him the laughing gas to make him fall asleep and then put the spinal block in. This would numb his legs for a few hours and help with pain management. Then Dr. Argeuso's Physician's Assistant (Ms. Tigges) came out an introduced herself. Evan hit it off with her, so we knew it would be fine. She guesstimated the procedure would take an hour, but it only took a little over 30 minutes.

After the procedure was done, Dr. Argueso came out and got us and told us everything went well. He gave us 2 prescriptions, one for Tylenol with Codeine and the other for an antibiotic. He took us back (we could hear Evan before we could see him). He wasn't a happy guy (as would any normal person just coming out of surgery). The post-op nurse was feeding him a bottle of Pedialyte to give him something in his stomach. He tolerated that well and we added apple juice into the Pedialyte to help it taste better. We stayed in post-op until after 9am and we were back on the road around 10am.

Evan slept the whole time in the car and by the time we made it back to Sierra Vista, he was able to move his legs around. He was a little fussy, but not too much more than usual. We can take his surgical dressing off on Thursday by soaking him in the tub. We have some antibiotic ointment to also put on him to keep the risk of infection down and to keep the skin from sticking. Unfortunately, no Jumperoo or Exersaucer for a while!

Early Morning Coming Up

Early morning tomorrow...we'll be on the road around 3am to have Evan at the hospital at 7am. I can blog from my cell phone, so I'll be sure to post the significant information. We gave him a bath tonight so he is fresh and clean! We plan on just taking him right from his crib to the car; fingers crossed he'll go right back to sleep. We can't give him any milk after 1am and basically nothing after 4am (we can give him clear liquids up until then).

Evan had a fun day today at the sorority house helping out with recruitment. The girls love having him around and he loves being handed off to all the girls.

Making Travel Plans

At my job, when it rains, it pours when it comes to business travel. This week, I was starting to get my travel packet together for a trip I planned out to Reston, VA the first week in October. How convenient that my college homecoming is that weekend! ;-) Bummer that I have to fly in and out of Dulles airport (so I have to drive all the way to western PA and then back), but hey, it's free airfare so to speak.

Anyway...my co-worker and I have had on the back burner a conference in Kuwait (yes, Kuwait, the country that is surrounded by Iraq and Saudi Arabia). Since my co-worker has done most of the travel on our contract, it's my turn to go. I'm excited to go, but not too excited about the marathon flight to get there (it will probably take about 24-hours) and all the paperwork I have to get done for overseas travel.

The conference is scheduled for September and is on the counter-IED effort, which is one of the manuals we are working on. Ramadan will take place while I am there also...which should be interesting. No worries about safety, we will be on Camp Arifjan the entire time (straight from the airport to the camp). That camp is the main place the soldiers from in-country Iraq go for their R&R, so it's very safe.

I will definitely blog the event for everyone. I am also taking sign-ups for babysitters to help T while I'm gone on these two trips!

Trip to the Doctor in Phoenix

We made the long trip today to see a specialist in Phoenix. It seems there are no pediatric urologists in our neck of the woods or in Tucson. It was a cool day in Phoenix, in the low 100's!

Evan's appointment was with Dr. Argueso who is part of the Pediatric Urology Associates. In earlier posts I may mentioned about Evan's hypospadia. He doesn't have a severe one as you might read at the link I posted, but his foreskin didn't grow the whole way and it is causing some curvature. His urethra is right where it should be, it's the foreskin around it that is causing the problem called "chordee". We were hoping the specialist would tell us this was just a cosmetic thing and that he wouldn't have to have surgery.

Well, the little guy does have to go under the knife on Monday. We're scheduled for surgery at 0700 this Monday morning in Phoenix (yuck)! The doctor assured us Evan's condition is very mild and the surgery will only take about 30 minutes. He will be put under general anesthesia and they will also give him something similar to an epidural which will keep him numb after the surgery.

NO worries...just a pain that we have to drive to Phoenix again; but it will be good to get this taken care of now when he is young.

Boxed In!

Since Evan is the big explorer around the house, he sometimes finds himself boxed in by the dogs. In this video, Evan was exploring the laundry room. Max, being the "herder" that he is, kept him corralled and made sure to give him lots of licks.

Evan is 13 months old today!

Surf Dude!

Today was the first Evan experienced The Cove. The Cove is our city pool...it's an indoor facility, very nice. Every Saturday morning they have "Splash Time" where infants and toddlers get the run of the pool. T was off golfing in Tucson so I walked up to the pool (we live about a half-mile from the pool) with Evan in the stroller.

He wasn't thrilled at first since the water was a little cool to the first touch. I sat with him on my lap in the shallow water slowly easing him farther into the water. He was intrigued by the other kids and by the scuba instruction class going on. I was able to finally get out into the water (during Splash Time the farthest you can go out is 5 ft). We bobbed around a bit and then ran into Sarah (she is one of our friends/co-workers/ex-military unit buddies). We've known Sarah since our days in Germany and now she's one of T's co-workers. She was there with her son Luke. We hung out with them for a while.

They had these really thick floaty-board-things shaped like lilypads and fish. I put Evan up on one and we chased Luke around. Evan had the happiest look on his face and really enjoyed it. I hope to take him back again, this time with T so he can join in on the fun!

Getting Scary...

Now that Evan has moved into the new stage of crawling, things get scary. For instance, this morning, I went into his room to get him up. He was doing his usual morning semi-cry to say "Come get me out of here now". When I walked into his room, I see these two little hands gripping the side rail and some eyes peering out from his crib. He managed to get himself up onto his knees and was trying to pull himself up.

We now have to re-think the crib set up since his mattress is already on the lowest level. If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't have bought the crib that I did. It looks nice and will transition to a toddler bed and then to a full size bed, but the side doesn't drop down and one side is higher than the other (sort of a sleigh bed style). I now worry that eventually he will be able to stand up and get out of (aka "fall out of") the crib. I've had people tell me that when their kids got to that developmental stage, they simply put the crib mattress on the floor with pillows around so if they rolled too far, the pillows caught them.

8/8/07: Finally Crawling!

He finally did it at 12 months, 3 weeks and 4 days (or adjusted 10 months, 3 weeks and 2 days)! Evan finally made up his mind to crawl! We had anticipated him crawling for a while since he was showing all the signs, but he just never did it until tonight. For some reason he had to get to my flip-flops. We now enter the phase where we have to re-look everything in the house.

8/7/07: Bath Night

As you can see, Evan is now enjoying himself in the bathtub.

8/2/07: Been Bad About Blogging...

Things have been crazy-busy so apologies to all of you who are missing your Evan-fix. I need to take some video of Evan's latest "tricks"...still no crawling yet, but he likes to pull himself up to a standing position. So, who knows, maybe he will skip the whole crawling-thing? With his increased mobility, we also have an increase in boo-boos with him falling over and bumping his head or his eye...the boy needs a helmet!

The monsoons have been steady this summer and we've had some real big downpours daily. We forgot that when the monsoons arrive, so does the seasonal "Sadie-pee" on the living room carpet. For some reason, when it rains, she will not go outside and relieve herself...instead she chooses to do so in relatively the same spot on the carpet. T was not happy to discover (aka step in ) it on Monday. Since then, Sadie has been banished to the backyard all day. The thing that stinks about it is that Max is stuck inside the house since we have to close up the dog door. He's pretty good about holding it all day until we get home.

Evan is still doing well at daycare. He is pretty much still the smallest kid there (even smaller than the infants on the other side of the room). So he is truly turning into a little-man. His food palette has expanded to peas and green beans, so he'll eat almost anything. I gave him a Cheerio this morning (I snagged it off of one of the other kids). He wasn't sure what to do with it, but he let it sit in his mouth and dissolve (thank goodness no choking hazard there). Today they were doing some sort of artwork with Jello (to get them used to different textures). Tomorrow is finger painting (with edible paint of course).

Jello Painting

7/17/07: 1 Year Check-up With the Doc

Evan had his well-baby check-up today. We knew that he had to get his shots updated, so we gave him baby Tylenol ahead of time to help with the pain. We thought he had gained a bit of weight, but when he got on the scale, he is still a bit shy of 16 pounds. He has gotten longer though, he's about 27 inches now. The doc wasn't too concerned since he is following a nice curve on the preemie growth scale (he is on the bottom arc of the scale).

He had to get 3 separate shots (Chicken Pox, MMR and I can't remember what the other was, Hep maybe)? He cried for just a bit, but with Dad there to comfort him afterward, he was a trooper. Mom got the mean job of holding him while they administered the shots. We anticipate having to continue the Synagis shots in the fall since Evan will probably still be underweight. Since he's in daycare, they suggest we keep getting the shots in the RSV season.

We got the green light to start weaning him off formula and give him whole milk instead. We also got a referral to see a local urologist for his mild hypospadia. We have a feeling he will have to get the circ after all. At least he won't remember the procedure at this age (hopefully).

The doc heard a bit of wheezing in his chest, but nothing to be alarmed about. We have an appointment to see the Tucson Pulmonologist in September anyway. We also have to get Evan's blood drawn for a basic metabolic screen. If that turns out fine, we won't have to see the doc for a while.

7/15/07: Post-Party Clean Up

7/14/07: Day 365 (Sat.) Evan's 1!!

The weather gods smiled upon us as we celebrated Evan's first birthday with a backyard luau. The monsoon rain lightly came down around 4:30-5:00 and the party started at 6pm. We had a big turnout with over 40 people attending to celebrate Evan's big day. I don't think Evan had a clue the party was for him!

An overview of the party scene (be on the lookout for the sneaky dogs looking for some grub).



Some of Jen's co-workers and hubby's (Shirley and Ron, Terri and Tom, JoNell and her "friend") ;-)




More of Jen's co-workers (Kevin...who shares the same birthday as Evan and Keith).


Some of T's co-workers and former co-workers of both of us (Sarah, Kelly, Tim, Brandie, Doug and Alan):



Some of Jen's soccer buds (Sunny and Liz; Dolores' daughter Cassie, Liz's daughter Sharr and Sunny's daughter Anya and former co-workers (Greg and Sharon):



Getting ready for the cake!



Looking for a lighter!



Evan and his cake!

7/12/07: Playing WIth Nan

7/11/07: 1-Year Old Pics!

Evan with T's Dad








Evan with Nan (Jen's Mom)

6/28/07: Day 349 (Thurs.) Bath Night!

We thought Evan looked too cute when we're were undressing him for his bath. He didn't seem to mind the t-shirt still on his head. Sorta looks like an Egyptian headdress. ;-)

-----------
Chronological age: 49 weeks and 6 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 9 months, 1 week and 5 days
----------

6/26/07: Day 347 (Tues.) I Got Me The Flu...

Not sure what has hit me the past 24-hours...either the flu-bug or a major case of food poisoning. I started feeling queasy after work yesterday and had a wonderful evening hanging out in the bathroom. At least I can sit upright now!

Now, T started to feel a little icky today...so fingers crossed it isn't anything contagious for Evan.

-----------
Chronological age: 49 weeks and 4 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 9 months, 1 week and 3 days
----------

6/23/07: Day 344 (Sat.)

O.k...I just realized my day numbering got way off somehow. I think it's correct now. Apologies for not posting more...crazy week at work. Evan had a good week....still not crawling yet. He's mastered all the yellows and oranges as far as baby food goes...so now we'll start the dreaded greens (peas, green beans, etc...). Not my favorite, but hopefully he'll like them!
-----------
Chronological age: 49 weeks and 1 day
Adjusted/developmental age: 9 months, 1 week and 0 days
----------

6/17/07: Day 337 (Sun). Happy Father's Day!

-----------
Chronological age: 48 weeks and 2 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 9 months, 0 weeks and 1 days
----------

6/14/07: Day 334 (Thurs.) 11 Months Old!

Dad Makes Me Laugh....



Sorry for all the drool...


-----------
Chronological age: 47 weeks and 6 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 8 months, 4 weeks and 2 days
----------

612/07: Day 332 (Tues.) Back to School

Another restless night for Evan (and his parents)! His forehead still felt a bit warm, but I got him ready for daycare anyway. Serena took his temperature when we got there and he was good (99 degrees). It seems like the worst is over for now. I still can't feel where he has teeth coming in; so I dread the day when they do break through.

-----------
Chronological age: 47 weeks and 4 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 8 months, 3 weeks and 6 days
----------

6/11/07: Day 331 (Mon.) Playing Hooky Again

Poor Ev-man...had to play hooky again due to a fever. We were hoping his fever would have broken by now, but he was still pretty warm this morning. What a perfect day to stay home from school with all the rain. We had one of those odd June days where is rained almost all day. It was cloudy and dreary; which is a nice change from the typical Arizona weather.

Evan was in a pretty good mood despite his fever. We split the shift today with me taking the morning shift and T taking the afternoon shift. I had some running around to do, so Evan came along for the ride. I had to stop by work to drop off my laptop so my co-workers could use our shared printer. Evan had a good time hanging with the office crew for a little bit.

-----------
Chronological age: 47 weeks and 3 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 8 months, 3 weeks and 5 days
----------

6/10/07: Day 330 (Sun.) Teething Again?

Evan might have some more teeth cming in. He's been running a fever since last night, but isn't acting super-fussy about it. He just wants to be held all the time. The drool is coming down like a waterfall! If he is still running a fever tomorrow morning, we won't be able to take him to daycare. In that case, T and i will have to each take off half a day to watch him at home.

-----------
Chronological age: 47 weeks and 2 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 8 months, 3 weeks and 4 days
----------

6/9/07: Day 329 (Sat.) Riding With Dad

T needed to get some miles on his bike during the break-in period...so we followed him down to the Coronado National Monument south of Sierra Vista. It was about a 50 mile round-trip ride.








-----------
Chronological age: 47 weeks and 1 day
Adjusted/developmental age: 8 months, 3 weeks and 3 days
----------

6/8/07: Day 328 (Fri.) Weird Week

It's been an odd week in daycare. As of my last post, both of Evan's daycare teachers were to switch with the 2-year old teachers. Ariana had already done the switch to transition with the other teacher. Now, instead, Ariana came back to the infant room and just Jenny switched. So it's Ariana and Serena now...at least both teachers didn't switch.

I don't know if it was the teacher switch, but Evan had some good days and some bad days. His daytime naps were really erratic as was his eating. When he came home in the evening he would just be wiped out and sleep for 3+ hours...get up to drink a bottle and then go right back to sleep.


-----------
Chronological age: 47 weeks and 0 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 8 months, 3 weeks and 2 days
----------

6/4/07: Day 324 (Mon.) Bye Bye to Miss Ariana :-(

Another case of the Mondays! ;-) Actually, Evan did fine, the rest of the babies in the infant room were not having a good morning. This was the first morning with one of the new teachers, I think Sarina is her name. She seems nice, but I didn't get to talk to her long. Jenny will be getting her up to speed on all the kids this week.

Ariana is already in the 2-year-old room training up with the other teacher who will be coming to Evan's class. Ariana really had a good way with Evan, so she'll be missed. She promised to come see him when she can.

-----------
Chronological age: 46 weeks and 3 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 8 months, 2 weeks and 5 days
----------

6/2/07: Day 322 (Sat.) The New Toy

T's been having a good time breaking in his new toy. He's been driving around the neighborhood to get a feel for the bike. We stopped by the bike shop to get a tank protector so his jacket won't scratch the fuel tank. I set Evan on a little dirt bike...he looked cute on it (still a long ways away from riding)! They even have these cute little quads for kids.

-----------
Chronological age: 46 weeks and 1 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 8 months, 2 weeks and 3 days
----------

6/1/07: Day 321 (Fri.) Switching Teachers

Today we were bummed to hear that the teachers in Evan's class will be switching with the 2-year-old teachers. :-( From what one of his teacher's told me, the 2-year-old class is a bit out of control and they hope Jenny and Arianna can help. They'll start the transition next week.
-----------
Chronological age: 46 weeks and 0 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 8 months, 2 weeks and 2 day2
----------

5/28/07: Day 317 (Mon.) Memorial Day

Despite this being a holiday weekend, it wasn't very relaxing for us. T was taking a motorcycle safety course Saturday and Sunday. This is in anticipation of buying his crotch-rocket motorcycle this week. I spent the weekend repainting a room. Evan was a real trooper and did well with me not giving him 100% attention. Now that he can sit up pretty well, it's easy to leave him in playpen with all his toys.

-----------
Chronological age: 45 weeks and 3 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 8 months, 1 weeks and 5 days
----------

5/26/07: Day 315 (Sat.) Hangin' With My Buddy Max

Evan and Max have become quite the pair recently.








-----------
Chronological age: 45 weeks and 1 day
Adjusted/developmental age: 8 months, 1 weeks and 3 days
----------

5/25/07: Day 314 (Fri.) The Elusive Two Bottom Teeth

I was trying to get a picture of his two bottom teeth, it didn't work too well!






-----------
Chronological age: 45 weeks and 0 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 8 months, 1 weeks and 2 days
----------

5/23/07: Day 312 (Wed.) Not My Child!

O.k...I thought maybe Evan not sleeping well Monday night was a fluke...but he did it again last night. Monday morning he decides to be wide awake at 5:00am, throwing the whole morning routine off.

Last night he woke up numerous times crying and I had to put him on the futon with me to comfort him. He eventually would fall asleep, but then wake himself in a whimper. Very strange! I am now certain my perfect night-sleeping child has been abducted by aliens!

His sleeping music for tonight, The Best of the Commodores. We'll see how much he sleeps!
-----------
Chronological age: 44 weeks and 5 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 8 months, 1 weeks and 0 days
----------

5/20/07: Day 309 (Sun.) Lovin' Oatmeal

Today was the first day Evan was excited about eating his breakfast. All this past week he's been experimenting with bananas and did pretty well with them. I switched him to oatmeal with bananas and he was loving it! He was finally opening his mouth when the spoon came his way (instead of me tricking him into opening his mouth).

I tried to get a picture of his two bottom teeth that have come in, but he caught on to what I was doing...hence, the look on his face...





At lunchtime Evan ate a mix of rice cereal and squash (yummy). He chased it down with 5 oz. of formula, so he's still drinking his normal amount on top of the "solid" food. More calories, more calories!

Evan's bedtime music selection was the Best of Billie Holliday.


-----------
Chronological age: 44 weeks and 2 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 8 months, 0 weeks and 4 days
----------

5/15/07: Day 304 (Tues.) Latest Vitals

Yesterday I forgot to post his latest vitals. Not much changed, just his weight (his head circumference and height were about the same as at the beginning of the month). Looking through a baby book I have, it says Evan's current weight/height are right on track for a 5-month old!

We started Evan on bananas this week. Last week was squash (which he wasn't too fond of). He seems to like the bananas much better. At daycare, they are also working with him on eating baby food. Today, he ate 1 tablespoon of rice cereal and 1 table spoon of squash.

Evan's evening sleeping music, Mazzy Star (I know that's a little eclectic, but it's mellow music).


-----------
Chronological age: 43 weeks and 4 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 4 weeks and 1 days
----------

5/14/07: Day 303 (Mon.) 10 Months Old!

Today is Evan's 10-month birthday! Time is just flying! He had his last Synagis shot to the season today. He weighed in at 14 lbs. 3 oz...finally over the 14 lbs. mark! We were worried he was going to be 13 pounds forever! He did so good with the shot, he only cried for about 5 seconds and that was it. Next time we see the doc will be for his 1 year old check-up. Hmmm, let me guess, we'll have shots with that visit?

-----------
Chronological age: 43 weeks and 3 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 4 weeks and 0 days
----------

5/13/07: Day 302 (Sun.) Happy Mother's Day

Evan had a rare occasion today...both Mom and Dad were home on a Sunday. Now that the U of Arizona is done for the year, Mom doesn't have to make as many trips to Tucson on Sundays.

Tomorrow is the dreaded Synagis shot (the last one until the fall we hope).



-----------
Chronological age: 43 weeks and 2 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 3 weeks and 6 days
----------

5/11/07: Day 300 (Fri.) 65 Days Until Evan's Birthday!

On Evan's little daily report card he got a gold star for eating 2 tablespoons of rice cereal at lunchtime! It's the little victories!!

-----------
Chronological age: 43 weeks and 0 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 3 weeks and 4 days
----------

5/7/07: Day 296 (Mon.) Pictures are in

Back on April 12th, Evan had picture day at daycare. I had written about the debacle with the cute outfit I dressed him in (that he peed on). Here are the results of picture day...not terrible, but not his best smile. :-) You can tell he was not a happy guy on his tummy.



This a picture of all the babies (newborn through 12-months). In this pic, he had the original shirt on, but he's pants-less (por guy). He sitting on Ms. Olga's lap (she's the teacher who speaks Russian). I do love the look on his face (he looks thrilled). Amazing none of the babies were crying!



These vids are dark (we need to work on the lighting in the living room). As you can see, if Max had his way, Evan would be one worked-over, licked-up kid! Evan can almost sit up unassisted. I was just giving him a little support so he wouldn't tip over.





-----------
Chronological age: 42 weeks and 3 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 3 weeks and 0 days
----------

5/5/07: Day 295 (Sat.) Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Dad decided to go watch the new Spiderman movie without us, so Evan and I did our own thing today. We took the Trailblazer to the car wash. Evan had a good time watching the cars go by and the guys dry off the cars. Afterwards we headed over to the mall since the movie would be over soon.

Sierra Vista now has a Best Buy electronics store right outside the mall. We decided to check it out and as expected, it was crazy in there. We cruised the parking lot over by the movie theater entrance to see where T had parked. He drove the Honda and it can be really hard to find in a parking lot since there seems to be a million other silver Hondas. Can you believe there was an open spot right beside him? What are those chances?

This was Evan's first time to the mall. He just loves to people-watch! Dad finally met up with us right about the time Evan was getting antsy for his early afternoon bottle.


Evan getting ready for breakfast.


Evan "eating" rice cereal.

-----------
Chronological age: 42 weeks and 1 day
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 2 weeks and 5 days
----------

5/4/07: Day 294 (Fri.) Finally Settling In To Daycare

Dropping Evan off at daycare in the morning has become a much less stressful event. So, I am assuming it's a combo of him being comfortable with his teachers, maturing a bit and holding off on giving him his morning bottle until we get there. The teachers say he is such a pleasant baby, which is nice to hear.

Today when I picked him up, I stopped to talk to one of the infant teachers who is Russian (her name is Olga). She thinks it's neat that T and I both studied Russian. T can still "govoreet po rooskee", but it escapes me now. T now is the afternoon pick-up guy, so he gets to talk with Olga when she is there. It was funny since Evan was playing by himself in the Exersaucer and didn't see me at first. All of a sudden he heard my voice and he shot me the look of death...as if to say, "stop talking to her, you need to come get me right now"! He was all happy one moment and then started crying in an instant.


-----------
Chronological age: 42 weeks and 0 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 2 weeks and 4 days
----------

5/3/07: Day 293 (Thurs.) Mmmm, rice cereal

The new part to the morning routine is to "expose" Evan to rice cereal. I use the word "expose" since he isn't too keen on eating it yet. He likes trying to steal the spoon from my hand or grabbing the end of the spoon and getting the cereal all over himself. Is there a non-messy way to feed a baby? Every morning I'll give him the opportunity to eat the cereal until he finally takes to it.

Evan had a great day today according to his daycare teachers. It's always a good thing to pick him up and the end of the day and he is still in the same outfit I dressed him in that morning!

Evan's musical sleeping selection for tonight: The Steve Miller Band; Fly Like an Eagle. Whenever I hear a 70's band like Steve Miller, it reminds me of my older sisters since they listened to that group. I was lucky to have sisters who had good taste in music back then!

-----------
Chronological age: 41 weeks and 6 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 2 weeks and 3 days
----------

5/2/07: Day 292 (Wed.) Music Man

Evan took very well to his nebulizer treatment at daycare. They gave him his treatment around 2:30pm. I gave him a treatment before taking him to daycare and he was not happy with me. I wish I could have snapped a picture of the mean look he had on his face when I roused him from his sleep to get him ready to go.

To minimize the risk of Evan puking on me when I drop him off at daycare, I wait until after I've already gotten ready for work to wake him up. He's been sleeping in very well. I change him out, put him in the car seat and go. I make up a 3oz. bottle to give him after I get him to daycare. So far, the technique has been working. Now that I have to do the nebulizer treatment, it delays his morning bottle. It didn't seem to bother him too much this morning. The bottle seems to be the perfect distractor for him in daycare first thing in the morning; especially if the babies are crying a lot.

We're trying to expose Evan to all types of music (hoping he takes after his mom and has musical talent). Every night we put him to sleep with a different music CD. We'll reserve groups like White Zombie and the Lords of Acid until he gets a little bit older. Tonight, his CD selection is Creedence Clearwater Revival, Chronicles Volume 2. Last night was the Best of The Temptations; so we are expanding his repertoire.

-----------
Chronological age: 41 weeks and 5 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 2 weeks and 2 days
----------

5/1/07: Day 291 (Tues.) 9-Month Check Up

Evan had his 9-Month Well Baby Checkup today. Since Dr. Ettinger is on sabbatical, a new younger doctor, Dr. Smith gave Evan the exam. Evan still is an ounce shy of 14 pounds, but he is getting longer (25.5 inches). When I inputted all his stats, he has fallen into the -2 standard deviation (you can see on the chart). Nothing huge to worry about, but he is small even for his adjusted age.

Evan still has that lingering cough with nasal congestion. Dr. Smith thinks it will take a while for him to kick it since he's been seeing perfectly healthy kids have it for 8-10 weeks. So the nasal sucking will continue (Evan just loves it)!;-)

Dr. Smith also put Evan back on the Albuterol treatments every four hours for the next 10 days. He thinks if we can get his airways wide open, it will help him expel a lot of that crap in his chest. There was definitely no pneumonia in his lungs, so that is a relief. He is having us stop the 3 times a day Dimetapp/Albuterol syrup that Dr. E had prescribed. Dr. Smith says research has come out showing that it really isn't effective. Which I can see in Evan's case since he has been taking that since the end of March and his cough and congestion hasn't improved.

We also got the green light to start him on rice cereal/solids. Yea! A step closer to getting him caught up with his peers!

Happy Anniversary to Jen's parents!!

** Stat Check:
Weight 13 pounds 15 ounces
Length 25.5 inches
Head circumference 42cm


-----------
Chronological age: 41 weeks and 4 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 2 weeks and 1 day
----------

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.
-----------
Chronological age: 41 weeks and 0 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 1 weeks and 4 days
----------

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).


-----------
Chronological age: 40 weeks and 4 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 1 weeks and 1 days
----------

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:


-----------
Chronological age: 40 weeks and 3 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 1 weeks and 0 days
----------

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.

-----------
Chronological age: 40 weeks and 1 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 0 weeks and 4 days
-----------

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!

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

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. :-)

-----------
Chronological age: 39 weeks and 4 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 7 months, 0 weeks and 0 days
-----------

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**

-----------
Chronological age: 39 weeks and 3 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 4 weeks and 3 days
-----------

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.
-----------
Chronological age: 39 weeks and 2 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 4 weeks and 2 days
-----------

4/14/07: Day 274 (Sat.) 9 Months Old!

Guess who is 9 months old today? Can you believe how fast time is flying?
-----------
Chronological age: 39 weeks and 1 day (9 Months)
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 4 weeks and 1 day
-----------

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.

-----------
Chronological age: 39 weeks and 0 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 4 week and 0 days
-----------

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!

-----------
Chronological age: 38 weeks and 6 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 3 week and 6 days
-----------

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!

-----------
Chronological age: 38 weeks and 5 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 3 week and 5 days
-----------

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.

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

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)!
-----------
Chronological age: 38 weeks and 3 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 3 week and 3 days
-----------

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

-----------
Chronological age: 38 weeks and 2 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 3 week and 2 days
-----------

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!

-----------
Chronological age: 38 weeks and 1 day
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 3 week and 1 day
-----------

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.

-----------
Chronological age: 38 weeks and 0 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 3 week and 0 days
-----------

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). ;-)

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

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.



-----------
Chronological age: 37 weeks and 5 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 2 week and 5 days
-----------

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.



-----------
Chronological age: 37 weeks and 4 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 2 week and 4 days
-----------

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).
-----------
Chronological age: 37 weeks and 3 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 2 week and 3 days
-----------

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!

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

Baby Mya

For those of you who are avid readers of our blog, you may have read past comments posted by our good friend Joe Pedone (Joey P). We've been co-workers and friends with Joe and his family for about 6 years now. Joe's oldest daughter Justine just had her baby Mariah, "Mya", this past weekend. Baby Mya was born at 24 weeks and weighed 1 lbs. 4oz, 11.25 inches long.

You can read Joey's postings on his blog (which I also have a link to on the right side of our blog page).
http://fuhgedaboutit.blogspot.com/

Please keep Joey and his family in your thoughts and prayers....Mya has a long way to go, but she's showing that she's a fighter. She's in the best hands at Good Samaratin Hospital in Phoenix.

3/31/07: Day 260 (Sat.) Missing Grandma

Grandma went back to Florida today. She's been staying with us helping to take care of Evan since last October. We were sad to see her go and hope she comes back soon. Evan's fever is gone, so one less thing to worry about. We still have the antibiotics for 9 more days and the nebulizer treatments until Monday.

-----------
Chronological age: 37 weeks and 1 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 2 week and 1 days
-----------

3/30/07: Day 259 (Fri.) Playing Hooky with Grandma

Evan got to play hooky from daycare today with grandma. He's tolerating the nebulizer treatments a bit better. The children's mask we have to use is cute, it's a dragon, so it looks like he's a fire-breathing dragon with it on. I'll try to get a picture. His fever is still up a bit, so we're still giving him the infant Tylenol.
-----------
Chronological age: 37 weeks and 0 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 2 week and 0 days
-----------

3/29/07: Day 258 (Thurs.) Ear Infection :-(

We kept Evan home today due to his fever coming and going. His doctor appointment was at 2pm. We didn't get to see Dr. Ettinger, but one of his nurse practitioners, Jean. She was quick to diagnose both ears were infected, poor guy! He wasn't showing any of the typical signs of an ear infection, just running a fever from yesterday. We anticipated that he had some respiratory funk going on since he had an odd cough from last week. She listened to his chest and said that he sounded very squeaky.

She ordered up an albuterol nebulizer treatment in the office and a mega-dose antibiotic shot. Evan hated the nebulizer and scremed his head off the whole time. At least we knew he was breathing in deeply with all the screaming. To make things worse, they gave him the shot afterwards. One of the thick shots that takes about a minute to push through.

So, needless to say, Evan was not a happy guy! Jean said his chest did sound better after the treatment. As a follow-on, we have to give him home nebulaizer treatments every 4-6 hours and a twice daily dose of liquid antibiotic (it actually tastes like candy). We have to see Dr. Ettinger on Monday to see how he's improving.
-----------
Chronological age: 36 weeks and 6 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 1 week and 6 days
-----------

3/28/07: Day 257 (Wed.) Running A Fever

Just what we were waiting for since Evan started daycare...his first fever! One of the teachers called around 1pm to say he was running a fever of 100.7 degrees. At 101 he has to be taken home. Since T was planning on leaving work earlier, he picked him up from daycare. Luckily we already had a doctor's appointment scheduled for tomorrow.
-----------
Chronological age: 36 weeks and 5 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 1 week and 5 days
-----------

3/27/07: Day 256 (Tues.) Still Not Too Happy

Hoping Tuesday would be a bit better, but alas...Evan decided to throw up all over me at daycare when I dropped him off this morning. I had to go back home and change. His teachers said the rest of his day wasn't too bad, he did actually sleep a little (about an hour). He isn't drinking as much as he usually does (he's been leaving 2 oz. in each of his 5 oz. bottles). We'll ask the doc on Thursday if that's a problem.
-----------
Chronological age: 36 weeks and 4 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 1 week and 4 days
-----------

3/26/07: Day 255 (Mon.) Back To the Old Grind

After a pretty relaxing weekend, Evan headed back to daycare today. Coming off of a pretty good end-of-the-week; he didn't start this new week off too well. He has little bit of an upper-respiratory cough going on (it's been since last Wednesday). Talked to one of the nurses and they said they could fit him in on Thursday. Since he doesn't have a fever and his snot is clear, they don't think it's bad.
-----------
Chronological age: 36 weeks and 3 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 1 week and 3 days
-----------

3/25/07: Day 254 (Sun.) Hanging Out With Max

-----------
Chronological age: 36 weeks and 2 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 1 week and 2 days
-----------

3/24/07: Day 253 (Sat.) Getting Some Ps and Qs

Evan had his first day of peace and quiet since attending daycare. He slept through the whole night and napped pretty well during the day.
-----------
Chronological age: 36 weeks and 1 day
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 1 week and 1 day
-----------

3/23/07: Day 252 (Fri.) Day Five at Daycare

In honor of the Gators playing today...Evan was decked out in his Gator-fanatic duds. I snapped this pic of him as we were heading out the door. He had another great day at daycare, no more puking!

-----------
Chronological age: 36 weeks and 0 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 1 week and 0 days
-----------

3/22/07: Day 251 (Thurs.) Day Four at Daycare

Evan had a GREAT day...no throwing up AND he slept in his crib! Maybe he is acclimating quicker than we thought? Evan is the only baby in his class who isn't crawling/walking, so he gets extra attention from his teachers to get him caught up. Since he still gets to sit in a bouncy chair, all the other babies who are mobile check him out, so it's like he's the new class toy! The girls are sooo bad! Why do they have to scream?

-----------
Chronological age: 35 weeks and 6 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 0 weeks and 6 days
-----------

3/21/07: Day 250 (Wed.) Day Three at Daycare

I stopped by at lunchtime to check on the little guy and I think we figured out the throwing-up thing. We just bumped him up to using level 2 nipples on his bottles and that may be causing him to drink too fast. Coupled with his bit of anxiety, we think that is the culprit. I ran home and got his level 1 nipples for the afternoon feeding and he didn't throw up. Fingers crossed that is the solution!
-----------
Chronological age: 35 weeks and 5 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 0 weeks and 5 days
-----------

3/20/07: Day 249 (Tues.) Day Two At Daycare

Day two...better than day one...but Evan is having trouble keeping his formula down. He had three outfit changes since he threw up after each bottle. It's probably due to him still being in shock over the new setting.

-----------
Chronological age: 35 weeks and 4 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 0 weeks and 4 days
-----------

3/19/07: Day 248 (Mon.) First Day At Daycare

Another major milestone today...Evan's first day at daycare. He was a bit shell-shocked, so to speak. He had a breakdown when he realized he didn't see any familiar faces after we left him. He didn't like napping in his crib, so he didn't nap much. All the teachers reassured us that it will take about a week or two for him to adjust. He's been so isolated since he came home, that this new environment is bit overwhelming for him. He is one of eight 6-12 month olds; and one of three boys.

-----------
Chronological age: 35 weeks and 3 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 0 weeks and 3 days
-----------

3/16/007: Day 245 (Fri.) Watching Mom Play, Sort Of...

Tonight was Evan's first time out to the soccer field to watch Mom play soccer. He did great until right about half-time when he started into an inconsolable crying fit. Dad had to take him home while Mom's team lost 3-1.
-----------
Chronological age: 35 weeks and 0 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 6 months, 0 weeks and 0 days
-----------

3/15/07: Day 244 (Thurs.) Max's 10th Birthday

Today our first baby, Max (Droll vom Regis Pacis), was born in a kennel in Limburger, Germany. He celebrated his birthday by eating a bratwurst along with his dinner. He was truly grateful.

Evan entertained us with his new vocal skills. He was rather quiet during this vid.


-----------
Chronological age: 34 weeks and 6 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 5 months, 3 weeks and 6 days
-----------

3/14/07: Day 243 (Wed.) 8 Months Old!

Evan is 8 months old today! Amazing how time is flying!
-----------
Chronological age: 34 weeks and 5 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 5 months, 3 weeks and 5 days
-----------

3/12/07: Day 241 (Mon.) Countdown to Daycare

One week until Evan goes to daycare. We hope he'll make a lot of new friends!

-----------
Chronological age: 34 weeks and 3 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 5 months, 3 weeks and 3 days
-----------

3/11/07: Day 240 (Sun.) Gators Win!

Yeah! The Gators won the SEC championship. I made the mistake of forgetting to put Evan's Gator onesie on (he was wearing his UofAz one instead).
-----------
Chronological age: 34 weeks and 2 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 5 months, 3 weeks and 2 days
-----------

3/8/07: Day 237 (Thurs.) Day Care

We got the call today that Evan got a spot at Imagine Early Learning Center. We were starting to worry since childcare options in Sierra Vista are pretty sparse. We went down at lunchtime to pay the registration fee to reserve his spot. He'll be in the infant room, but on the side with the 6 month to 12 month olds. There are eight other babies on his side with 4 teachers, so he'll be getting plenty of attention.

He won't start until 19th when his spot opens up.
-----------
Chronological age: 33 weeks and 6 days
Adjusted/developmental age: 5 months, 2 weeks and 6 days
-----------