A(nother) Trip to the Zoo

We met Lisa and her girls and Elise and Campbell at the zoo today. As usual, we had a fantastic time together, but we missed Cheryl, who had to work.

Judson's first try at a sippy cup. I'm probably way behind on introducing it, but whatever.

Ella and Campbell play so well together. She bosses (nicely) and he follows. =) It's hard to tell from their sizes that she's a little over two years older...

Elise and Campbell at our picnic

And then there's these two. Emilie is just as cute as she can be. Judson was so excited to be with her that he started clapping for the first time. =)




After our photo shoot, we were packing up our lunches and looked over to find this. Judson probably took poor Emilie out.

The babies enjoying their new-found love of finger foods while the big kids pet the goats... Emilie kept signing "more" to me and Lisa said that's the first time she's actually signed, so that was exciting.

Lisa and her girls

Sunny Saturday

We had a very fun, busy, SUNNY weekend. It was fabulous! On Saturday, Clare (Goddard) invited us up to her house in Portland. She hadn't seen Judson since December and she needed a "fix." We loved getting to see her super-cute townhouse and fun neighborhood.



We drank iced coffees while wandering down Mississippi Avenue. We also enjoyed a DELICIOUS lunch in the sun.


Later we headed to Sauvie Island, which is west of Portland. (Clare's boyfriend, Jacob, two of their friends, and Jacob's dog, Ian, also went. Judson loved Ian!) It was kind of a trek out there, but we were really glad we went. Judson had his first experience with sand and with "swimming" in a river. He kept trying to eat the sand (go figure) and he absolutely loved being in the water. (I am planning to buy a kiddie pool for our yard very soon.)

Not so sure about the sand at first...

Fun family picture by Jacob
Notice Ian in the background. He loves the water and would happily swim really far to get his tennis ball.

Watching Ian...

Buddies

We had such a great day! Thanks for inviting us, Clare!

Eight months

Dear Judson,

Today you are eight months old. I cannot believe how fast time is going, and I'm so very thankful that I get to spend each day with you. Your daddy and I love you more than we thought possible.

This past month has been one of incredible change for you. For starters, you finally rolled from your back to your stomach (the day after you turned seven months old). I knew for a month or so that you could do it if you wanted to because you would roll up onto your side but never all the way over. I was right. Once you finally did it, you just kept rolling and rolling.

Other big milestones this month included your two bottom teeth coming in (without any noticeable fussiness) and you starting to "dance" to music. When you're sitting and I turn on music, you excitedly bounce up and down while pumping your fists in the air. I could seriously watch it all day.

It seems like every couple of days you're doing something new. It's such an exciting time for all of us! Yesterday you figured out how to drink from a straw. Two weeks ago, when Granddad had open heart surgery and we spent five days at the hospital, you learned to wave because all of the nurses and CNAs who came into his room waved at you. I love how you hold your little hand out with your fingers to the side.

Another big accomplishment this month has been you learning to fall asleep on your own. The first night of you crying it out nearly broke my heart, but I knew it was going to be best for you in the long run. The second night was so much better, and you didn't wake up until 5:00 am! When that sleeping-through-the-night trend didn't continue, I decided you needed to cry it out when you wake up in the middle of the night too. You only cried briefly when you woke up two nights ago, and then last night you slept until 5:00 am without any middle of the night crying. You probably would've slept longer, but I opened the door to check on you and you started stirring. I'm really hoping we're on the right track with your sleeping. Time will tell...

Though you are still a baby, you seem more and more like a "big boy" all the time. I hate the thought of you not being a baby for much longer, but I am so excited to watch you grow and experience the world. I love you, Mister Man!

Love,
Your Mama

Trying out a new chair from Auntie M and Uncle Justin

Verdict: It's pretty comfy =)

Sweaty after a long day in the sun

Cuddling with Daddy- the perfect end to a day

The First Day of Summer...

...was technically two days ago, but today was the first day that FELT like summer. And, boy, has it been a long time in coming this year! We woke up to blue skies and warm temperatures and decided to head to Portland to hang out with Jessica and her kids (plus one daycare kiddo and Jeremy, when he got home from work). We went to a park with some fountains and Judson really loved it. The water was cold and he doesn't stand on his own, but he'd put his hands and feet in and giggle a lot.

This picture cracks me up...and is very deceiving. Judson had just woken up, but was in a perfectly fine mood.

Most of the Nelson Family - Jeremy, Jess, and Max

The final member of the family, Logan

Getting wet...

As we were getting ready to head home, Judson started sucking on the straw on my water bottle. He got really excited when he started getting water out...and proceeded to drink most of my water. He was so proud!

On a completely unrelated note, my dad has been home from the hospital for a week now! He's doing well - working hard on his exercises, doing the stairs in their house, etc. Recovery is going to be slow, though, so please keep those prayers coming!

Hospital Pictures

This past week has been such a whirlwind! I'm so thankful that the worst is behind us. And really, it could have been so much worse. Praise God for His provision and care for us! Here are some pictures of our time at the hospital...

Keeping Granddad company the day before surgery...

Judson gave Aunt Anna the funniest looks when we first got to the hospital on Thursday.

The LONGEST day we've ever had...keeping busy during the 8+ hours of surgery

On Thursday, I noticed big Snickers ice cream bars in the cafe (much bigger than they were the last time I had one...at least ten years ago). They were only $1.50 and I really wanted one. I didn't end up having one that day, so I decided they'd be our celebratory treat once my dad was out of surgery. Boy, were they good. So good, in fact, that my mom and I had one the next day too, to celebrate Dad getting out of ICU. Any excuse to celebrate...! =)

Judson really loves to play with Aunt Anna. He started bouncing in that chair and then she copied him and they proceeded to mimic each other for quite some time. Super cute!


Still going strong after maybe an hour and a half of sleep all day and about ten hours in that waiting room... What a guy!

Grandpa Paul's Truck

Paul and Becky came over to visit the other night. They drove their old Chevy over and thought it would be fun to take some pictures of Judson in it. Nate got some really good ones!

Practicing his new skill...waving

Home Sweet Home

My mom called about an hour ago to tell me they were safely home! Praise the Lord! My dad told her that the car ride wasn't as hard on him as he'd anticipated. Of course, he's exhausted, but they're both VERY happy to be home. Dee had made the hospital bed and had dinner in the fridge and someone had mowed the lawn (a BIG job). She thought it was probably Bob, but she hadn't asked him yet. She is so relieved not to have to think about the lawn for awhile! Anyway, thanks again for all of your prayers. We serve an AWESOME God!!

Going Home

My dad is supposed to be discharged today! While it still seems too early to some of us, he has improved so much each day. My mom said yesterday that she felt much better about it than she had the day before. Please pray that their trip home will go smoothly. It's a two and a half hour drive as it is, and they're supposed to stop every hour and get him out of the car. It won't be easy on either one of them.

Sacred Heart Medical Center at River Bend

I thought some of you might like to see the hospital my dad is in. (I didn't take this picture. I borrowed it from here.) It's an amazing facility! He's on the fourth floor in the right-hand section. As one lady put it yesterday, "I feel like I'm walking into a ski lodge when I come in here. I keep expecting someone to offer me coffee and Irish cream." On Saturday, there was a recital in the lobby. A number of kids with amazing voices sang. We happened upon it by chance on our way to the cafe, which is also really nice.

I was going to post my dad's address, but I just talked to my mom and it's looking like they may be releasing him as early as Wednesday! We're not going to hold our breath, but there's talk of it anyway. =)

Day Two Post-Op

So that Judson could have one nap in his bed (for the first time in four days), we didn't head to Eugene until the early afternoon. Morgan and Anna were just getting there too. (Morgan was in a wedding in Washington, so they didn't see Dad on Saturday.)

When we got to his room, my dad was sitting in a chair and looking so much better! Most of the tubes had already come out (chest tube, catheter, etc.), so that was great. Obviously the pain is still really bad, but that is to be expected. Not only are his ribs now wired backed together, but his left arm is very black and has a large incision the length of it (where they took an artery for the surgery). His left leg has three horizontal incisions where they cut to pull a vein out. Apparently they can't do that for arteries, which is why the arm looks so much worse. The chest incision was unwrapped, but we weren't brave enough to look at that.

Shortly after we got there, Dad took his first walk out into the hall. He'd previously only been to his door. This time, he went about ten to fifteen feet into the hallway. He said the worst (and very scary) part is that he can't take a deep breath, so it felt like he was suffocating. He's doing a lot of breathing practice into a little green thing-a-ma-jig, so that will help him be able to take deeper breaths.

We were amazed at how well he was moving. Standing up and sitting down in his chair are becoming (practically) easy for him. Now it's the getting in and out of bed that are really painful. Since he's not supposed to push or pull, it's next to impossible. Different CNAs have different methods of helping him get up; some work much better than others.

Dad got to have real food yesterday. He had French toast for breakfast, a Caesar salad for lunch, and a hamburger for dinner. He got to choose what he had. Nothing's tasting good to him yet, but he's working really hard to eat it all. His doctor said he just needs to focus on getting enough calories, because that's really important for healing. Later on, he can focus on diet changes.

Okay, I think those are the highlights. My mom has mentioned over and over what good "medicine" Judson is. We're so thankful that he's content to go hang out at the hospital for hours upon hours! He made my dad laugh a couple of times yesterday and once it was nearly a belly laugh. Music to our ears!

Physical therapy starts today and it's going to be brutal. However, Dad is so willing to do exactly what he's being asked to do and I'm sure he'll pass with flying colors. We think they'll be sending him home at the end of the week. Mom's nervous about having to drive him for two and a half hours, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Besides, his improvements every day have been amazing, so who knows what he'll be up for by the end of the week!

More about today

Nate, Judson, and I went to the NCAA Championship track meet in Eugene today. It was only part of the finals and was over in two hours. My dad was so excited about going to the meet, and I knew it would mean a lot if Nate and I were at least able to use a couple of his tickets. It turned out to be a gorgeous day (FINALLY!) and we had a great time. Talk about some incredible athletes. Wow!

Anne and Donny Goddard bought my dad a t-shirt from the meet and gave it to us to give to him. My wonderfully thoughtful husband decided he should get some of the Oregon track team to sign it. That was easier said than done, but he did get one (very important) signature: Ashton Eaton's. He's the WORLD RECORD holder in the decathalon. Anyway, we were excited and my dad was, too. =)

By the time we got to the hospital, my dad was already in his new room. Super exciting! We saw him for a little bit and then left him to rest. Nate, Judson, my mom, and I took a great walk behind the hospital. It's gorgeous! There are humongous old fir trees and the Willamette River running through them. It was warm and wonderful, and Judson fell asleep and slept for about an hour (that's more than half of what he slept all of yesterday). We also played cards for awhile.

After that, we spent a couple of hours with my dad. It was so amazing to think about the fact that twenty-four hours before, he was just coming out of surgery. They got him up and in a chair again. It was different people helping him this time and caused him considerably more pain. =( He did it, though. Unfortunately, his room faces the west and the afternoon sun was beating in. Though my mom and I loved it, the three guys were roasting. My dad was dripping sweat after exerting so much energy to get up.

We left him around seven and he was still in his chair. (He'd been there about an hour.) We went to eat and my mom was going to go back up after we left. We really needed to get Judson home at a more decent hour, though he's still being a trooper. (On a side note, Judson's second bottom tooth is now coming in and he waved at three different strangers in the hospital today! He sure gets a lot of attention. One other lady came in the waiting room just to see him and he held his arms out to her and went right to her.) =)

Please continue to pray for healing for my dad and that his pain will lessen quickly. He's very tough, but I still hate to see him hurting.

Moving right along...

My dad has already been sitting up today...in a chair! He's in a lot of pain, but doing great! In fact, he was moved out of ICU around 1:00 and is now in his "permanent room." Yay!

And recovery begins...

Well, it's been a really long day, but I'm happy to report that things have gone really well up to this point.

According to the reader board, my dad was in the operating room at 7:20 this morning. Someone from the hospital's pastoral staff was supposed to come by around 11:00 to update everyone on their loved ones' surgeries, but that didn't happen because he got called away to the emergency room. So, we didn't hear anything until some time around 1:00.

At that time, we were told that the new valve was in (a cow's valve, as it turns out) and it would be a few more hours to finish up the bypasses. (Originally we were told the surgery would take four to five hours, but it was more like eight, I think. We're not sure how much time in the O.R. was prep work and how much was actual surgery, but he was in there a lot longer than four to five hours. ) Around 3:00, the surgeon came out and told us that they were done and things had gone well. Praise the Lord! One bypass didn't go as well as they'd hoped because his artery was calcified and had been for years (or something like that...I know he used the word calcified). However, they weren't worried about it because it hasn't been working anyway. The other three more important ones now look great.

My mom and I were the first to go see my dad around 3:45. He actually didn't look as awful as I thought he might. (The number of tubes and wires is incredible, of course, and the ventilator is a little unnerving...) While I was in there, he was sort of "coming to" and I really didn't like that because it was obvious he was in horrible pain and he was struggling pretty hard in the bed. I stood by the door for a few minutes and then decided it was Morgan's turn.

My mom was in there while each of the rest of us cycled through. She's doing so well with all of this! Eventually, she was sent out and no one's been in for the last hour or so.

We've taking over a large part of the waiting room and Judson is still fighting sleep, as he has for the past two days. (He napped on the way down this morning, and then for about forty more minutes hours ago.) He's still fairly happy, though.

Again, thank you so much for your prayers! We're definitely feeling them. Please keep them coming! Recovery is going to be a very slow, painful process. =( (In fact, the doctor told my dad on Tuesday that it would be about three months before he feels like this was all worth it. Ick.)

A little update...

Today was the last day of school in Stayton. Judson and I went out there for a couple of hours to say goodbye. Nate came home from work after a meeting, and we headed to Eugene around 12:15.

Morgan and Anna had just gotten there, so my dad had a roomful all afternoon and evening! He was doing pretty well, except for when he got up to use the restroom or brush his teeth. Then he'd have pain and he'd put his oxygen back on and lay down. Soon he'd be feeling better again.

My parents' priest had called his nephew-in-law (is that a recognized relational term?!), who lives in Eugene, so he stopped by to pray with us in the early afternoon. Later, my parents' priest and his wife surprised us with a visit. They'd driven up from Coos Bay just to see my dad! That meant a lot to my parents (and us too). We had communion with them and prayed again. By 7:00 or so, Dad was fading and we were hungry. At my request, we circled Dad once more and Nate prayed for him (I was too choked up at that point). Then we said our goodbyes and headed out. Though we all feel very confident in the surgeons, it is a big deal to have your heart stopped and operated on for four to five hours! It was hard to say goodbye.

My dad has been really upbeat this week and continued to be tonight. He looked sad when we were leaving, but I think it was mostly because my mom and I were upset. Anyway, he'll be heading off to surgery by 6:30 or so tomorrow morning. I was mistaken in my earlier post - they will be doing a quadruple bypass (not triple) and one valve replacement.

One praise of the day was Judson. He held up so well! He didn't have a real nap all day. He slept in the Beco (front pack) for maybe twenty minutes at school, slept for part of our trip to Eugene (thirty to forty minutes), and then napped in his stroller for about twenty minutes at the hospital. THAT WAS ALL! And yet, he was still smiling and entertaining us two hours after his normal bedtime. He was a great distraction for my dad today.

Thanks for your prayers! We appreciate them more than we can express! I'll update tomorrow as I have information...

My Dad

This will have to be quick, but I wanted to ask for prayers for my dad, Jim. He had a "mild to moderate" heart attack on Monday night. Once he was stable, he was ambulanced to Eugene, where they have a terrific cardiovascular hospital. The doctors have determined that he needs to have open heart surgery tomorrow morning. They'll do a triple bypass and one valve replacement. Though this is all rather scary, we're just so thankful for a second chance. (At 64, he's older than his dad, mom, or brother lived to be. Both his mom and brother died of heart attacks.) He'd been seeing a cardiologist in Eugene for a number of months; we're not quite sure how they missed this...

Anyway, thank you so much for your prayers. I'll do my best to keep this updated.

Sunday's Couponing Deal Update

I just realized that my purchases from Sunday (see "Loot!" below) qualified me for a $5 gift card, so I guess all of that stuff sort of only cost $2.67! =) Just had to share...

Our Guy

I keep saying this, but it's so hard to believe how fast Judson is growing and changing. These past seven months have flown by, and yet in some ways it seems like we've had him a lot longer. Here's what's going on right now:

Eating:
*He's still nursing fairly frequently, which continues to be quite the weight loss program for me.

*We have yet to find a food he doesn't like. We started him with rice cereal, but had some not-so-fun days of constipation, so we switched to just vegetables and fruits. That worked really well, and recently we started oatmeal. So far, so good. Anyway, after the rice cereal, Judson had prunes, and then avocado, carrots, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, peas, broccoli, and green beans (not quite in that order). Then, finally, it was time for fruit! So far, besides prunes and avocado, he's only had banana, which he loves. It was one of the first foods he tried that didn't result in an "icky face" to start with.

*I've made all of the food except for the prunes. I got a new food processor for Christmas and have REALLY enjoyed pureeing the different vegetables. (I have a little food mill for foods that don't have to be cooked and/or can't be pureed, like sweet potatoes, because they get gluey.)

Some of my colorful baby purees...frozen in ice cube trays, before being transferred to freezer bags.

Sleeping:
* Way back in January and February, Judson was doing a great job at night! He'd sleep anywhere from 7-9 hours before waking up to eat. Then he'd go right back to sleep. A few times he slept even longer (11 hours is his record.) Some nights he still does that, but others he wakes up every couple of hours all night long. Because I'm exhausted and I know what'll get him back to sleep, I generally just feed him and that's that...for a couple of hours.

* There have been a few nights lately where he's wide awake in the middle of the night and that is NOT my idea of fun. Eventually morning comes... **Since I started this post three days ago, we discovered his first tooth came through! Hopefully that explains all of the night wakings...**

* Recently I decided he needed to learn how to self-soothe, so he can get himself back to sleep when he wakes up at night. Though he's very easy to get to sleep in the evenings (usually between 7:00 and 7:30), we decided he needed to learn to cry it out. (We always made sure he was asleep or almost asleep before we'd leave him.) The first night was awful - an hour and twenty minutes of screaming (though there were quiet intervals toward the end of that time...before the screaming would start up again). I dreaded the second night, but he only fussed off and on for less than twenty minutes, and then he slept until 5:00! Woohoo! Though he's back to waking up at night (and I have yet to have him cry it out then), he's going down really easily and I've so pleased about that! The next step is dealing with the middle of the night wakings, but that's easier said than done, because our house is small and Nate needs to be able to function at work. We'll get it all figured out! =)

Other milestones:
* He just finally rolled from his back to his belly two weeks ago - shortly after he turned seven months. He'd been rolling to his side for ages, but never would go clear over. He hated being on his stomach, after all. Anyway, when he did it, it was like it was no big deal and the next day he was rolling all over the place. Apparently, he just likes to do things on his own timing.

* Now, when he's sitting up, he often lunges forward to reach things. I don't think it will be too long until he figures out how to get up on all fours.

*Like I mentioned above, we discovered his first tooth on Friday (June 4th). There really weren't many indications it was on its way. He's drooled and chewed on everything in sight since he was three and a half months old. And his sleeping hasn't been great for a long time. He was slightly fussier for a couple days, but I thought it was because the weather was so lousy and we weren't getting out as much. (Speaking of which, Judson's Auntie M {Mandy} and Uncle Justin gave him an outdoor swing and we hung it on our patio. He LOVES it and I've been so thankful it's in a protected area during these long, rainy days.)

Okay, I think I've covered the important things. =) For those of you who aren't on Facebook, you can click here to see a bunch of pictures from April and May. (Click on an individual picture to make it larger and then you can scroll through them all, if you're so inclined.)

Loot!

JuliAnn got me started on "couponing" awhile ago and, while it takes some effort, it's sort of addicting. At least for a thrifty person like me. (Thrifty sounds so much nicer than cheap.) JuliAnn is MUCH better at it than me, but I've gotten some really great deals in the past few months. (Last week at Target I bought two Olay facial cleansers for $3.38 total and got a $5 gift card in return.) I've gotten a lot of my best deals at Rite Aid, which previously was a store I NEVER shopped at because it was so darned expensive. Now I love it! Here's what I bought at Rite Aid today...for a grand total of...drumroll...$7.67! Not too bad, unless you're JuliAnn, who could've probably earned money on it somehow. =)