Thursday

Monday morning brought the bad news that Dick had had a stroke.  We drove to Cincinnati and were there by early evening.  On Monday night he was really weak on his left side and was having trouble with his speech, only able to say a couple words at a time.

Tuesday morning brought many improvements in speech.  He was able to say full sentences but slowly and it took a lot of focus.

Wednesday was even better!  His physical strength was improving as well.

Today, he worked really hard.  He had back to back visitors, OT, PT, ST, a social work consult, a rehab nurse evaluation, and doctor visits.  He was so ready for a nap after all of that!  We are waiting to hear about insurance and getting some things in order with his new chemo drug.  The great news is that the drug he was going to take in the study was approved by the FDA over the weekend so his oncologist can presribe it for him here.  There are lots of logistics that are being worked out regarding that.

Sharon is staying with him at the hospital at night though Bryan did take the overnight shift last night. 

Dick is still impressing everyone with his determination.  He was working on speech therapy and she asked him to name some animals.  He said "dog, cat, cow, horse, hip....po...pot...a...mus!"

The therapist just laughed and I said "That's why we love him!"

Keep working hard and getting better Grandpa!  We love you!

Daddy and Jackson

I love these boys!  Look at how much fun they have together.

This last picture is another really good example of just how small he really is still.

Boys Will Be Boys

I should have know when I gave Jackson sloppy joes that he would end up, well, sloppy. He loved it. And I felt like a good momma because it isn't the Manwich kind. I made it from scrach from a Hungry Girl cookbook that I took from Grandma's house! Extra veggies and ground turkey deliciousness!

I had to take his shirt off after dinner and he immediatly went to Claire's water bowl. We bought him a water table for his birthday because he loved this dish so much. He plays in his water table for about .4 seconds and then comes inside to play in Claire's bowl. Booooo. He was having so much fun so I just let him play and decided to grab the camera.

Another adventure of his, on a different day (Thanks Goodness!) was the tupperware basket destruction! He loves to pull it out and play with all the containers. It's the one cabinet that is unlocked for him to play in. So, if you're at our house, check for grimey fingerprints before you put food it one. This is your warning.

Happy Friday!!!

13 Months

Jackson, at 13 months you:

• took 14 steps! You lose your balance a little but are able to catch yourself and keep going. You clapped for yourself when you finished.
• had your first visit with the dentist. Mommy was worried about your front tooth so we went to check it out. Dr. Wagner said that it was probably a genetic thing and you just have an extra tooth that is fused to the one that is supposed to be there. He said you may need to have it pulled when the time comes. You also may not have a permanant tooth behind it so you would have to have an implant.
• can say "all done" when you feel like it. You said it really clearly for a couple days but then you stopped. Mommy thinks you just started focusing on walking instead.
• make the cheesiest laugh. You squish up your face and breathe in and out really fast. You think you are pretty cool when you do that.
• love singing The Itsy Bitsy Spider and the froggy song. You say "Gonk, Gonk" when it is over.
• brush your teeth with a big boy tooth brush. You bit mommy's finger so hard when the finger one.
• love to eat grilled cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
• still throw every vegetable over the side of your high chair. Mommy still feeds you purees so you get the nutrients you need.
• love reading your books. When you are in the right mood, you will sit with a book and flip the pages over and over again. Your favorite thing to do is pull all the books off your shelf upstairs.
• are drinking soy milk for a little while as mommy tries to figure out what's making your diapers so yucky. You are in disposables right now but Mommy really wants to get back to the cloth.
• throw your toys down the basement stairs through the gate.
• are having a hard time figuring out when to nap. Some days you want to take two naps and other days only one. You still sleep great at night!
• are getting naughty! You like to play in Claire's water bowl, you crawl as fast as you can into the pantry when it is open and pull everything off the shelves, and you dump cups of water over the side of the bathtub. Mommy gets so frustrated but you just laugh.
• are starting to show some separation anxiety. If you notice that mommy leaves the house to go get the mail or to get something from the car, you cry at the door. It's so sad to see you so sad.

We love you little BIG boy!

Funny Daddy

FOURTEEN

Go ahead! Count 'em for yourself!

A Little Place Called Pentwater

We are so lucky to have Mimi and Grandpa who are so lucky to have Kyle and Sue who are so lucky to have a cottage in Pentwater, Michigan. It is the cutest little town along Lake Michigan about halfway (maybe? I could be very wrong) up the east side of the lake. They built the cottage a few years ago and it is a very relaxing place to spend a few days. We loved it. Thanks for inviting us Mimi and Grandpa!

On our first full day there we went to lunch at a dairy. The smell of Jackson's diapers fit in well there. We enjoyed our delicious sandwiches, a bottomless cup of milk, and spending some quality time with the cows.

Grandpa and JJ testing out the tractor

We stopped at the cutest little bakery along the road for some caramel apple pie and rhubarb pie.The lighting made for some good pictures. :) Love my little buddy.Isn't it the cutest?

When we got home JJ spent some time in the swing with Mimi. This kid loves to swing!Then we played on the trampoline. He LOVED it! See?Then Mommy's bottom got wet as she got off the trampoline! We brought lots of extra clothes though.

Before bath time I decided to see how he would like the sandbox. He doesn't like to have dirty hands so I was interested in how he would do. He was very serious in there but he seemed to enjoy him self. The bath water was DIRTY at then end of day 1!On our second full day there we went to the market in town (Grandpa stayed home with JJ so he could nap (which really meant scream for two hours and then finally fall asleep right before we were supposed to leave for lunch). I woke him up after an hour and we headed to a fish house that is amazing. You pick your fish and they fry it there for you. We took in to a park across the street and had a nice picnic. JJ enjoyed his fried whitefish.

After a delicious fish lunch we went to the beach. The water was COLD but we had a great time! That's our group in the top right. JJ's headed over to make friends with some neighbors. ;)After some not very good nights of sleep, I was ready to get him to his own bed by our last day. Could we please take JJ's entire nursury to Pentwater next time???

Thanks Kyle and Sue for a great few days. The hospitality was amazing, as always!