Saturday, August 6, 2011

Time to play catch up!

Cayman came HOME~
His nursery was ready, the house was spotless and sanitized, Cayman was taking his oral feeds well and wasn't needing any oxygen... IT WAS TIME FOR HIM TO COME HOME!!! The week before Cayman came home I was staying at the hospital every night working on his oral feeds aka "Que base". They told me he needed to take 170 CC's in a 12 hour time frame. WELL he had taken 150 CC's within the first 5 hours! My little boy never seizes to amaze me. So, after over 2 months, 11 weeks, and 72 days in the NICU... they decided he could come home a little earlier than planned. May 28, 2011 and 37 weeks corrected, was the day he came HOME! 

 
We made the NICU workers brownies and brought them flowers and a balloon to say thanks! :)
 We decorated the garage for him, but it RAINED and ruined it! lol

I changed the picture in the frame on the left to the one on the right... but you get the idea! :)

I can't even begin to explain how happy I am to have him home. It had been such a roller coaster having him in the Nicu. I experienced every kind of emotion a mom could have: some days I was sad, or afraid, angry, extremely happy, excited, frustrated, anxious, all of the above. When we got the phone call that it was time to pick him up and take him home, I literally started jumping up and down and clapping. I probably looked like a total idiot but I was READY to have him home!

Newborn Pictures~
Cayman had his newborn pictures taken. Kayla Paler was the photographer and we are so glad we chose her. Seeing as how Cayman wasn't technically a "newborn" for his photo shoot (he was over 2 months old at the time) he wasn't exactly sleepy the whole time. Kayla was so patient with him though and would take her time to get the perfect shots. Im glad she did, because they turned out amazing! Isn't our little guy so adorable?







Living in a "Bubble"~
A few weeks ago Skyler was holding Cayman, and our dog Rookie came up and put his chew toy on Skylers lap for him to throw it. (This is a normal occurrence these days seeing as how Rookie HATES it when Skyler holds Cayman) Well the chew toy touched Caymans arm by accident and I immediately pulled out a Johnson's anti bacterial wipe and wiped his arm where the toy touched him. lol paranoid much? YES. Its true... I've become a germ freak! Skyler smiled and looked at me, and said "Have you seen the movie bubble boy!?" Which brings me to my next subject. Ever since Cayman came home, i've pretty much lived in a bubble. The NICU nurses, and his pediatrician pretty much engraved in my brain how dangerous it is for him to be in big crowds with such a weak immune system. A small cold for him could send him back to the hospital on a vent. The good thing is that I have an AMAZING husband, and wonderful in-laws. They try to help out as much as possible so that I can get out of the house every once in a while.
For instance, Skyler watched Cayman ALL DAY so I could go to Valley Fair for my sister in-law Diane's birthday. It was so much fun! Except for I'M GETTING OLD!! You know when you'd go on a roller coaster, and the entire time you waited in line your heart would be racing?? NOPE, didn't happen. I didn't even get scared when we'd slowly go up the huge ramp for the initial million foot drop! That used to scare the crap out of me when I was little. I think it's time I go bungee jumping, or sky diving. I need some more thrill in my life.
He also watched him so I could go to the midnight showing of Harry Potter with my in-laws! Can I just say that I am a total Harry Potter nerd?  I wish that Hogwarts were real, and that you really could fly on broomsticks! The last movie was probably the best movie I have ever seen, and I thought it followed the book fairly well. I cried, I laughed, and my heart was racing the entire time! DIANE said she didn't like it as much as Part 1 and that "she expected more." Needless to say, we told her she "wasn't our sister, and was disowned from the family!" Love you Diane! :)

Fathers Day~
I am so happy Cayman was home for Fathers Day. I'm sure it made Skyler's first Fathers Day as a dad that much more special. I ordered him a picture frame and had it engraved almost two months before. It said "God held my hand, so I could hold my daddy's. " Inside the frame was this picture above. Cute idea huh? He loved it! I also bought him the new Gucci Guilty cologne and made him this slideshow. Every time I watch it, it makes me cry. It reminds me of the struggle it was for him to just get into this World and survive. I have pictures on here that I never thought id show anyone except family, but now that he's home and healthy. I feel comfortable sharing them. (please turn your volume up and make sure its not on mute so that the music will line up according to the slideshow) enjoy! :)

http://www.kizoa.com/slideshow/d1805398k1005397o1/happyfathersday

The Perfect Day! :) ~
Have you ever had one of those days where everything seems to go right? The weathers perfect, your hair is actually working, nothing seems to bug you, and you are just happy to be alive!? Well, this was definitely one of those days. Skyler and I woke up early and decided we would go to Stillwater. Its the cutest little town in Minnesota. Old shops, beautiful scenery, fun things to do. 
To be honest I was a little worried taking Cayman out because he is/was so small and I was worried he would get sick. BUT he did fantastic, and it was cool enough that we could walk around with his canopy over his car seat so we didn't have to worry about germs. The views were simply breath taking, and we had so much fun. We walked around with Rookie and Cayman and looked at all the fun little shops and got ice cream cones. Rookie was loving all the attention he got that day. Every time someone would come over to look at Cayman and swoon over him, Rookie would attack there feet and start licking their toes! HA so we really didn't have to worry about people touching Cayman, Rookie took care of it and loved all the people there. Towards the end of the day we went to a cute little park overlooking the river and the cutest old lady offered to take our pictures. Rookie was even able to be in them with us. :)


4th of July~
The 4th of July weekend was a lot of fun. We had a big pool party with Skyler's entire office and ordered pizza. Then on the 4th we went to a park with the entire family and had a bbq. 




Khyle and Annabell's Wedding~
My brother in law Khyle got married last month and we are so happy for him. Annabell is the perfect girl for him and I'm sure she will keep him in line. ;) Here are just a few pictures from their big day!
 Aren't they adorable?


 Me, Diane, and Marissah being cool like always...


 HAHA

Ari's Birthday~
Ari is my ONLY niece, so you better believe that she is spoiled by her aunt Bethany. I truly believe that she is the CUTEST little girl that ever lived. She has the biggest bright blue eyes, plump lips, long eye lashes,  and blonde curls. She is always smiling, and such a good baby girl. Oh I just love this little stinker! It was her 1st Birthday in June so we celebrated with the whole family.




Well, this concludes my blog post. Sorry it took me so long. I will be updating again soon with Skyler's Birthday and much MUCH more! Stay tuned. :)