Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

Goodbye to Shelly

We had to make a very hard decision a couple of weeks ago to put down our wonderful dog, Shelly.  She has been struggling with spinal arthritis for a year now, and finally, after losing mobility in her back legs and showing signs of obvious discomfort and pain (despite the cocktail of drugs she's been on for many months), we faced the fact that it was time to say goodbye.  I hope that we were able to give her a wonderful 6 years of life after her not so wonderful 9 years prior, when she was used as a breeding dog and never treated as a pet.  She was incredibly loving and loyal (to her momma mostly) and literally just wanted to be loved in return.  I think most people will remember that Shelly was lovingly referred to as our toothless dog :)  We will miss her.

Halloween and Zoo

Pumpkin Patch

The Big 1st Birthday!

It's been a while since I've posted an update and I apologize! I have been a busy dude! So the biggest news is that I turned one year old on Oct. 5th! I know, I know, I am such a mature old man now, can you believe it? I decided on a cowboy themed party, with a little persuasion from my mom, but it all turned out great! I had an awesome time playing with my cousins Ethan, Hannah, Bea and new baby Alice! I am so thankful that all of my wonderful family turned out to celebrate with me. My favorite part was eating the icing off of my giant cupcake cake that my Aunt Lizzie got me. I wore some cool cowboy boots and basically partied my hiney off! Here are some shots of my "Birthday Roundup"

I visited my pediatrician on Monday and got a great checkup. I now weigh 22 lbs and am 29 inches long - big growing boy! I also got 4 shots, boo. I have 3 top teeth coming in and 3 bottom teeth coming in so my mouth is a little sore and mom and dad think it's making me a little bit cranky at times. I am crawling and cruising all over the place and I do not want to sit still for long, especially when it's time to eat. Mom and dad are also trying to put some gross cold white stuff in my sippy cup for me to drink, but I am not interested at all! They have also tried brushing my teeth a few times, but I don't plan on cooperating with that any time soon either (so if you have any clever tips for them, please keep them to yourselves!)Daycare is also fantastic! I love my Panda room teachers and all of the other kiddos I get to play with every day. I am always happy when mom picks me up and usually covered in some sort of food, which just means I had a great time and ate well! They told me I'm moving to the one year old room soon and I'll be a Penguin with my cousin Bea and my buddy Parker - I can't wait! So that's my update for now, and I'll try not to be such a stranger!
Love,
Wild Will

10 Month Pictures

Some new sounds and moves!

http://youtu.be/moNzkxXPEPo
http://youtu.be/56JfVikW8Kk

Some new pictures...finally!

First Haircut

Hangin in my diaps

Silly guy

Baptism (part 2)

Thumbs up from the docs!

I've had a busy couple of weeks with all of my doctors' visits, but I wanted to share with everyone how great I am doing! I saw the eye doctor last week becuase of some concerns with asymmetry but everything checked out great! It was quite an experience to have my eyes dialated, though. Then I saw my pediatrician, and I weighed in at 20 lbs, 9 oz and 29 in long! She only had to give me one shot which wasn't so bad and she also told me that I was looking great. Today I saw my cardiologist and passed all of my tests with flying colors! My echo was excellent and my sats are at 80/81 which is great for me. The doc told me I could stop my lasix and that I wouldn't have to come back for a visit for another six months!
I also got to go swimming last night at my friend Parker's house and I loved it! I think mom and dad are going to start calling me their little fish!
Stay cool everyone!
Love,
Will

9 Months Old and Counting

I turned 9 months old on July 5th and have been having a wonderful summer! I just saw my neurologist Dr. Thangarajh and found out I weigh about 20 lbs! I also get to see my pediatrician Dr. Kreusser next week for my 9 month checkup. I haven't started crawling yet but I am so eager to get moving! I can push myself backwards on my stomach and pivot and roll, but I haven't quite been able to figure out how to get my knees under me to move in the direction I want to go. I'm so close and I get so frustrated sometimes so I just do the "superman" sometimes and lay on mu belly waving my arms and leg up in the air. I also love standing up! I can sometimes pull myself up with my activity table (compliments of my cousin Bea) if I am sitting on a pillow but mostly mom and dad help pull me up by the arms while I push up hard with my chubby legs. I get the biggest open mouthed smile on my face and giggle when I do this because I feel so accomplished! Sometimes I even wave mom and dads hads away because I want to try doing it by myself and I know I am getting so close. I say a lot of "Ahhhh"s and "Gaaa"s and I like to blow raspberries, growl and make a smacking sound by sucking on my top lip -but nothing that sounds much like talking yet. I don't have any teeth yet, although mom keeps sticking her finger in my mouth to check - yuck! I can clap my hands and wave Bye Bye and I love to shake my toys and rock and dance to music.
I have been getting out a lot this summer, going to my grandparents' houses, my aunt and uncle's house, the pool, restaurants, church and even a Gymboree class. I love all of my wonderful family members and especially my cousins whom I've gotten to play with a lot lately. We had a great 4th of July with everone celebrating the holiday and my Grandpa Butler's Birthday over at my house. I also went to my friend Parker G.'s 1st Birthday party and had watermelon for the first time and I loved it. I thought Parker looked pretty cute in her baby bikini, too! I love being out and about but sometimes I get a little upset when someone holds me but mom and dad :( If they are out of sight, I forget all about them and have a great time, but if I can see them - especially if it is getting late and I'm a little tired - I can turn on the waterworks until I am back in their arms. Mom and dad told me that we need to work on that.

A few things haven't changed much; I still love my baths and I smile and laugh all the time! I am sleeping great at night but I am only taking 2 naps a day now. I love my babysitters Abby and Penne and I am also very excited to start my new day care in August! I will be going to the same place as my cousin Bea and my buddy Parker S. so I will have lots of familiar faces there to welcome me.

Here are some awesome pictures from my 8 month photo session by Maya at Sunflower Life Photography http://www.sunflowerlifephotography.com/

8 Months Old

I turned 8 months old on Sunday the 5th! I can't believe how time flies! We all celebrated by doing a family photo shoot with a wonderful photographer named Maya of Sunflower Life Photography (http://www.sunflowerlifephotography.com/). I love all the pictures we've seen so far - Maya did a wonderful job getting me to smile and look cute :)

I have been growing up a lot this past month! I am an expert at sitting up on my own and I'm making lots of noises and sounds that make my mom and dad laugh at me. I am finally getting to go more places, too! We went out to eat at Katie's Pizza and I loved looking at all the new people and objects at the restaurant. I've also been over to my Aunt Erin and Uncle Tom's house to play with my cousin Bea and also over to Mimi and Poppy's (Grandma & Grandpa Saykes) house to play with my other cousins, Ethan and Hannah. I love making new friends and am so curious about other babies and kids. I even had a play date with my mom's friends, Kristen, Melanie and Shannon and met their little boys, Luke and Charlie. I can't wait until I am big enough to run around and play with all of these guys.

The other night, my mom and dad left me with Grandma and Granpa Butler to spend the night while they went to a wedding. I was a little apprehensive when they handed me over (as I am now when I first meet new people, or when mom and dad are around)but once they were out of sight, I had a great time playing with Grandma and Grandpa! I even slept great in my cousin Bea's pack 'n play so I plan on coming back soon for another sleepover.
I've been having a great time with my babysitters Penne and Abby. I love playing peek-a-boo, reading stories, going for walks (when it's not 100 degrees outside), jumping in my Jumparoo, singing songs and playing Pat-A-Cake! They are so much fun and I hardly even notice that my mom and dad are at work for the day.

Oh and I almost forgot, I did the American Heart Association Heart Walk on May 14th! It was a crummy day with the cold and the rain, but a lot of my friends made it out to walk with me! Thank you so much to eveyrone who walked with us and donated to this great cause - I know all your donations will go to help babies and kids like me live long happy and healthy lives:) Speaking of healthy, have I told you how great I am doing? Other than a little virus I had a few weeks ago, I have been doing just great! Of course I am still going to a lot of doctors appointments with my pediatrician, cardiologist, neurologist, occupational therapist, physical therapist and newborn medicine - but I am passing everything with flying colors. The only slight issue was with my PT, Beth, who told me I needed to work a little more on tummy time. I took this to heart and now I am fully committed to tummy time and have even started sleeping on my tummy! As soon as mom and dad put me in my crib, I roll onto my tummy and fall asleep.

It's been a while...

Hi friends!
I'm sorry it's been so long since my last post, but everything is going great! I completed my Glenn surgery on March 28th and got to go home just 6 days later, which was wonderful! I have been very busy since then, eating, playing and growing quite a bit. I got a little cold in April which was awful. It really stinks to have the snots and not be able to blow your nose! Mom and dad and my sitters, K.C. and Penne nursed me back to health with persistent nose suctioning and the vaporizer and in about a week I felt as good as new...and just in time for Easter! I had a fantastic Easter with my family and I finally got to meet my cousins, Bea, Ethan and Hannah. It was so much fun to go to church with mom and dad, to my Aunt Melissa & Uncle Brent's house and then over to my Grandpa & Grandma Butler's house. It was quite a busy day!

You would not believe what a big boy I've become in the past month and I will be 7 months old on May 5th! I am sitting up on my own, making lots of noises and laughing, picking up all my toys and putting them in my mouth, and I even try to play with Shelly from time to time - but she doesn't seem especially interested in me. I am also eating more solid foods like fruits and veggies but my favorites are still sweet potatoes and bananas. I went to the pediatrician and got my 6 month vaccines and they told me I weigh 17lbs 14oz and I'm 26 inches long! That puts me in the 50th % for weight and 90th % for height - maybe I'm going to be a tall guy like my daddy! I also had a checkup with my cardiologist and newborn medicine and they said I look just great. I am still enjoying my Sundays with my awesome Aunt Lizzie who watches me while mom and dad go to church. I also love going outside for walks around the neighborhood...if only this rain would stop! My mom and dad have been busy setting up some outings for me and I am so excited to meet some new people and especially some new babies!
Love,
Will


Also...the American Heart Association Start! Heart Walk is May 14th! The walk is at Busch Stadium and sounds like a very fun and FREE event and anyone can participate.

If you are interested in walking, here is the event information: http://heartwalk.kintera.org/faf/help/helpEventInfo.asp?ievent=426519&lis=0&kntae426519=5953D513CD654614BC929A4ED9511A17
If you'd like to sign up to walk, you can join the "Heart 2 Heart" group here: http://www.kintera.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=426519&lis=0&kntae426519=5953D513CD654614BC929A4ED9511A17&team=4008975&tlteam=3805613
If you would like to donate, here are our donation page links:
Chris: http://heartwalk.kintera.org/metrostlouis/forironwill
Katie: http://heartwalk.kintera.org/metrostlouis/ironwillsaykes