Interperiodic Meeting with First Steps

This afternoon I met with Nathan's First Steps' coordinator in order to add some things to Nathan's IFSP.

Nathan had lost some weight at his 15 mos check-up causing him to drop on his growth chart. After a consultation with a Dietician/Nutritionist, it was decided that we could benefit from getting help on how to feed Nathan and get him to pack on some pounds :) Nathan has a VERY sensitive gag reflex and struggles with texture. Due to this, we are limited on what we can feed him and want to make sure he is getting what he needs nutritionally. So far, Nathan is handling the changes we are incorporating just fine. We hope we can continue to make progress and eventually wean Nathan from the bottle and start to introduce finger foods.

We also had to add getting Nathan fitted for orthotics. Now that Nathan is spending a lot of time in his stander, we want to make sure his feet are in the proper position for weight-bearing. Nathan is doing great wearing his socks, orthotics and shoes and is such the big boy in his stander.

We are so grateful for all of the support we have to keep Nathan progressing. We have a lot on our plate, but Nathan continues to handle it all just fine.

Nathan all smiles while he works on bearing weight on his legs.

Busy Weekend

We had a very busy weekend and enjoyed spending time with our family. Saturday we spent the afternoon at Pop's Farm for the first annual Heitman Reunion. This is Steve's Mom's side of the family and what a turn-out!! After some calculating, we figured out there are 42 grandchildren (Steve and his cousins) and 68 great-grandchildren (our kiddos) with 58 of them being under the age of 8...it was quite the gathering :) We were able to meet a lot of the babies for the first time and it was great to catch up with everyone. It was a hot day, but the kids had a GREAT time in the bouncy castle, playing on the swing set, taking hay rides and swinging on the HUGE catapult swing overlooking the lake. Andrew especially LOVED the hay ride with all of the kids.

Andrew and Mom on the catapult swing - what a thrill!!

After spending the afternoon outside, we headed back to my parents' house for dinner to meet my brother's future in-laws. We had a great time with everyone and can't wait to celebrate the big day in September!!

Sunday, we headed out to my Aunt's house for Laura's (my future sister-in-law) bridal shower with my family and then stayed for dinner. The shower was a blast and great to see some of our extended family :) We all slept very soundly on Sunday night after a busy weekend!!

NO Surgery!!

For the last month, we have been keeping a very close eye on Nathan due to his enlarged ventricles. Today Nathan underwent another round of anesthesia and a MRI to take another look...AND no change!! His ventricles are still enlarged, but Nathan is still one happy little guy who continues to grow, develop and progress in all areas. Until Nathan gives us a sign that something is not right, we will continue to push forward.

We are THRILLED that everything is going well so far and pray that Nathan remains healthy. We cannot thank everyone enough for keeping our precious little boy in your daily thoughts and prayers. The power of prayer is miraculous and Nathan sure is one to show for it!! We appreciate everyone's continued support in this never-ending roller coaster. Our family is so blessed to have you all in our lives.

All about Trains

Andrew is all into trains right now and can't wait to get downstairs everyday to play with his choo choo trains. Steve and I are constantly building new tracks for Andrew to move his trains on and to then eventually tear apart so we can build yet again another track :) Today we (Mommy and Andrew) built an awesome train track that actually stayed put together for a while. We'll have to wait for Daddy to put one together that is picture worthy - ha!!

Andrew starting to get his trains going :)

Nathan's Standing!!

Nathan now has a Magician Pediatric Stander that allows him to go from a sitting to a standing position. It is very important that Nathan be in the correct alignment while working his muscles to learn how to stand. This stander provides normal hip and knee alignment that maintains position from sitting to standing. We have been using it for a while for proper alignment for sitting and Nathan loves the big table to play with his toys. Today for the first time, we put him in the standing position and he did GREAT!!


Standing upright for the first time :)


Taking it all in from up high.

Some fun pics of Andrew

Andrew all smiles after a good night's sleep.


Climbing on Nathan's Magician Stander.


Saying "cheese."


Enjoying some Ted Drewes with Daddy!!


Making sure to get it all!!

Nathan's 1st REAL haircut

Nathan probably had his very first haircut earlier than most babies since he had surgery at less than a month old. We have several locks saved from the hospital and have only really trimmed Nathan's hair up to this point. We finally decided to cut Nathan's hair and even it out. Our little guy is always sweating and we figured this would only help. We can't believe how much older Nathan looks - our little baby boy is getting so big!!

Chesterfield Family Aquatic Center

This morning after Andrew's swim lesson, we stayed to play and swim at the aquatic center. Andrew is much more timid this year and didn't enjoy everything that he did last year. I guess he's a bit more aware of his surroundings and didn't appreciate when water sprayed or dumped on him. We were able to distract him and keep him occupied for a while, but ended up leaving sooner than what we had planned. It was still great to have some time just the three of us for once. Thanks Gigi and PaPa for watching Nathan for us!!


Andrew and Daddy waiting for the big bucket to tip over and dump all the water out.

Part of the play area for the kiddos.

Trinity Lutheran Preschool

Today, we visited Andrew's preschool that he will start in the Fall. It's crazy to think he's old enough already for school!! He could not be more excited and talks about school a lot. Let's just hope this enthusiasm lasts and he makes a smooth transition when he actually starts.

Happy 4th of July!!

Happy 234th Birthday, America!! We had such a great extended holiday weekend. It started off a bit rocky, but we had a wonderful weekend full of fun with family and friends.


Steve took the day off Friday and we ventured to the Zoo. The boys absolutely loved it and I think riding on the choo choo train was Andrew's favorite part. We were able to see lots of animals and enjoy the nice weather. After the Zoo, we met Uncle Tom for lunch and visited their puppy, Baxter. Andrew smiles and laughs non-stop when he is around Baxter. He can't get enough of throwing toys for Baxter to fetch and all of the tricks Uncle Tom has Baxter do. Andrew's never-ending giggling is the cutest...you even have to remind him to breathe. After a fun-filled morning and mid-afternoon, it was time to say good-bye and get home for naps. While giving high-fives and packing up the car, Andrew and Baxter got tangled up and before we knew it, Andrew was on the ground. He hit his head on a paving stone and had a nice gash on his forehead. We were now off to an urgent care center for stitches. Andrew did great and got 4 stitches. The best part about it was Nathan just chilling out in the stroller like, "thank goodness it's not me getting medical attention for once." We finally got home after a LONG day and everyone was down for a nap :)


Saturday we spent the day at Grandma and Pops' swimming, playing and grilling. The boys enjoyed the day with all of their cousins and it was nice to relax and get some sun!!



Sunday we were off to another BBQ at my brother's house. My Aunt and Uncle were able to make it out and meet Nathan for the first time!! We forget that we really have only been out and about with Nathan for a couple months and there are still so many that still haven't even met him. It was great to hang out and catch up with everyone!!



Aunt Jo and Nathan playing :)


Nathan hanging out with Daddy.

Monday we finally stayed home and just took it easy. We went to our neighborhood pool for a bit in the afternoon and let the boys enjoy the water. We had a busy weekend, but had a great time doing a lot of activities and seeing everyone!!



Andrew playing with all his water toys.


Nathan enjoying the shade!!


Andrew scooping water and dumping it on Mommy's head.