Children's Museum

A few pictures of our visit to the Children's Museum this weekend...

fun at the bubble table

a lesson on dental hygiene

a giant Lite-Brite!

A Healthy Heart

This morning's ultrasound with the pediatric cardiologist could not have gone any better. While Baby was not eager to cooperate for pictures, he did great through the heart exam. The doctor was able to get an ideal view of the heart and examined it thoroughly. He studied every nook and cranny, and after extensive observation, was able to give us the news we longed to hear. He reported there was no heart defect! It looks and functions as it should. On top of that, the sonographer saw no sign of the brain cyst that had earlier been detected, and the left hand, which was thought to be slightly deformed, also looked perfectly normal. All around, Baby is growing just as he should be. We don't take good news for granted, so needless to say, we're thrilled! Baby will still need surgery to repair the hole in his abdomen. I didn't meet with the surgeons or neonatologists today; I'll be doing that in another month, so we'll have to wait to hear how they plan to handle that. But for now, we continue to celebrate each victory as an answer to prayer.

The doctor did note that for the safety of the baby, they will need to do a Cesarean delivery. There's just too much risk in damaging the baby's liver with a natural delivery, but at this point, we're fine with that. We'll do whatever is best for the baby.

So without further ado...a few more pictures of baby. As mentioned earlier, he didn't want to cooperate for the pictures. Apparently he was too busy playing with the umbilical cord in front of his face to let us get a good look at him. He's definitely our son!

3D view of Baby playing with the umbilical cord.

Baby's profile with his arm in front of his face.

Baby's face

A short video of Baby

(There's not much to be seen, but still kinda fun!)

Briefly on Baby

Hi everyone! I wanted to offer a brief update on Baby. As of now, there's not much to report, but I will be going in Thursday morning for another ultrasound, along with meetings with the cardiologist, pediatric surgeons and neonatologists. We expect to get much more information as to how Baby is progressing and what is to come after his birth.

I met with Dr. Luce this morning for my regular check-up, which went well. Baby is active and growing. She did mention to me that in their recent board meeting with all the doctors, specialists and geneticists, our baby was presented as a case study for group evaluation. They discussed his condition and how to best repair his omphalocele, which might be more complicated than usual because of its severity. She reassured me, though, that the surgeons are incredibly skilled and that Baby is doing very well. I will, of course, offer an update after our meeting on Thursday. If you could, please pray for us. I am a bit nervous, but also trying to be optomistic. Thank you....and a Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

Mr. Fancy Pants

Today was "Dress for Success" Day at Joe's school. He looked so snazzy in his corduroy suit, I just had to take a picture.

Birthday Weekend

Happy 2nd Birthday Claire!

She started out the day opening a couple gifts from us.

a giant tub of animal crackers

and her very first tricycle.

She can't quite reach the pedals, but by this summer, she'll be a pro.

Then Grandpa and Grandma Rosen came over for a birthday brunch for both Claire and Grandpa, who celebrates his birthday on Wednesday.

Claire didn't quite appreciate the fact that there was fire on her birthday cake. I'm glad my little girl is safety conscious, but she still has a few things to learn about birthday traditions.

In the evening we celebrated with the Puplis's at Pizza D'oro. Grandpa and Grandma make the best birthday pizza in town!

Aunt Melissa taught Claire the ways of the candy dispenser.

Sunday we had lunch at Grandpa and Grandma Sternberg's house.

Grandpa made this gift for Claire!

(Side Note: Uncle Mike is a dork)

The party developed into a balloon bounce extravaganza.

...which then turned into a "sword" fight!

What more could any two year old ask for?

First Hair Cut

For part of Claire's birthday gift, Joe and I took her to get her first haircut at a shop called SnipIts, a children's only hair salon. Her birthday isn't until Saturday, but we didn't want to overwhelm her with too much in one day. She did great, though, and had about two inches trimmed off.

After her hair was cut, she had it blown dry and styled. Overall, she cared more about how the sucker tasted than how her hair looked, but it was a great experience. Possibly even a fun new birthday tradition.

World Party

Every year, Ridge Park Charter Academy takes a week to study the various cultures of students who attend the school. It's a very diverse school, which makes it all the more intersting. Thursday evening was World Party, an open house style event where students and their families travel from room to room learning about each of the cultures. They sample foods, learn about lifestyles, and play games from that culture. It's a huge hit year after year, and this year Joe was on the World Party committee, so it was especially fun for us to take part in the celebration.

* * *

Joe and one of his students, Jasmine, served Romanian treats.

Oh, my little girl is growing up way too fast. I'm not ready to see her sitting at these big kid desks.

On Friday, the school hosted a "Parade of Nations", giving students and faculty a chance to show off their native clothing. Joe was the announcer and truly, he did incredibly well. He's such a natural!

Following was a Tae Kwon Do demonstration, as well a cultural dance presentation, which the kids enjoyed as well.

We love World Party. And while it's a lot of work, it's a great tradition and a wonderful learning experience that we always look forward to!