August 23, 2009 - Bye-Bye Mullet

Out for a hike

Learning to love nature (mobile pic)

Valerie (David's cousin) and Caden - Chesterton, IN



Back to work. Yes, 2 weeks ago I returned back to work. As hard as this was for me, it was the best decision for our family at the time. The transition has been hard as you can imagine but has been much easier seeing Dana a close friend of mine is watching Caden. Yes, just Dana and Caden. God continues to answer our prayers! Is she a lifesaver or what?? Words can’t describe how thankful I am to have her in my life and what she is doing to help our family. With Caden not having all his vaccinations and daycare’s having long wait lists it was becoming quite a stress as to who we would leave our son with and who would care for him and administer his meds. She cares for him like he was one of her own. Thanks for everything Dana.

As for Caden he has had some eventful days in the past weeks, but all in all continues to do very well. Over a week ago we started to notice more redness around his chest incision scar so we took him to the pediatrician. They snipped some of the sutures and started him on an antibiotic to be safe. Yesterday Caden was given his Hib vaccination. So far he has gotten the DPT and the Hib. Dr. Frommelt his cardiologist from CHW in Milwaukee has recommended Caden get the DPT, and Hib for now spacing them out. We are tackling only those sicknesses that would be very difficult on Caden’s heart for the time being. Spacing them out means many more trips to the pediatrician but we feel better about not “overdoing” it while he continues to heal.

Last weekend we traveled to Chesterton, Indiana to visit David’s mom’s side of the family. Valerie (David’s cousin) and Richard recently married in Texas and had their reception back home in Indiana. Congrats to you both ! We are so happy for you. It was so great to see everyone and get to share your special day with you. Thanks Aunt MaryLou and Uncle Rick for opening your home up to us and letting us stay with you.

Of all the weekly events probably the most exciting for Caden was his HAIRCUT. Ahhh…….the mullet is now gone. We agreed we would wait at least 6 weeks before anything sharp was near our little boy so that time finally came. David got out the clippers and shaved off the party in the back. Although mullet did bring many laughs and smiles it does look really nice short.

Caden continues to get stronger weighing in at almost 15 pounds. He has rolled over a few times and we continue to work with him to get stronger through his chest and “trunk” so he can support himself. We need this strength before we could start Rice Cereal and baby food. The therapists we had do the initial screenings through Early Interventions were helpful in their advice and we will be starting in on services as soon as we get the insurance figured out. I am thankful for David to be able to stay on top of the insurance, claims, coverage etc. He has spent hours on the phone trying to clarify and get answers to what seems to be a big, big, frustrating pile of paperwork.

Despite a few minor bumps in the road during the last few weeks, we are making great strides and we continue to be blessed with his progress, strength, and his resilience.

Today we made it out to to hike up in the Hollow’s Conservation Area in Cary, IL. It was a beautiful day and was so nice to get to enjoy the afternoon soaking up the sun and fresh air. I wish I had some pics to post of our day but I brought my camera but left my memory card at home……makes it a bit difficult to take pictures huh?

We are looking forward to a trip home to Marion over Labor Day weekend to visit with family, Caden’s great grandfather, and family flying in from Arizona. We hope to see many of you while we are home in Marion and if your available feel free to stop by my parents home between 1-3 on Saturday. This will allow us to hopefully see many of you without having to travel all over town.

Love always,
Melissa