Reaching our Goal

Thank you thank you to everyone who donated to our March of Dimes team. Matthew's Marchers surpassed the original goal amount and raised $500!! Wow! We are so thrilled that this money is going to such a great cause that is so close to our hearts. We will be attending the walk this coming Saturday!

Matty is mostly over his cold, but is still having slight nasal issues. He has helped his Dad the past 2 nights with the assembly of our new patio furniture. He absolutely loves being out on the deck, I think it's his new favorite hangout. Here he is showing off the new set.

Wash Out

Somehow, Matty came down with a cold on Friday. I have no idea where he picked this one up, since he didn't go around anyone that was sick all week. His nose started running, which didn't make him a happy camper. Therefore, he was up most of the night on Friday and Saturday. Last night was a bit better, although I did have to go into his room several times. This was the first cold he has had since last September, so we are pretty lucky that he made it through the entire winter with nothing. On top of the cold, it rained all day Saturday, and was chilly and windy on Sunday. Thankfully, he is better today. If I could keep him in a bubble to stay away from germs in the future, I definitely would! Here are some pics from 0ur washed out weekend...he did manage to smile for the camera despite it all.

Eye Day

Today was the day I had been dreading for awhile now...it was Matty's first pediatric eye appt. Since he was a preemie and had laser surgery to correct his ROP, it was suggested that we take him in for a ped eye appt at a much younger age than most kids. It was not a fun morning, to say the least. Jeremy came along to help hold the little guy down, while I stood in the corner trying to cover my ears. He screamed and screamed while the nurse held open his eyelids so that the doc could shine a light into his eyes and look at them with different lenses. He does have stigmatisms, which are pretty common I guess. They apparently have nothing to do with the fact that he was a preemie. They can either get better or worse, so we will pray that they get better before his next appt, which will be in 1 year. The worst part for him was getting the drops to dilate his eyes and also being held down, since he does NOT like to be confined. On a lighter note, we had a nice weekend. We took the little guy to Nebraska Furniture Mart to look at some things, and also to a few other stores. He got his first pair of Nikes, which he is already using to run all around the place!

Spring has Sprung

Matty has had a very busy week! He absolutely loves to be outside with all of the neighbor children and dogs running around. He played with his next door buddy on Friday night. The little guys had fun pushing the lawn mower, playing on the swingset, and holding hands! We love our new neighborhood because there are little kids wherever you turn. Matty has started calling all of the kids (regardless of age) 'baby'. I don't know if the older kids like it that much, but I think they are good sports!

Matthew's Marchers

Our family will be walking in the 2010 March of Dimes march for babies in KC on May 1st. The March of Dimes will always hold a special place in our hearts and we thank everyone who has already donated to this cause in Matthew's name. As you all know, Matthew was born at 25 weeks, weighing 1 lb 1 oz, and spent 108 days (an entire summer) in the NICU at OPR. I don't talk about this time very often, as it is hard to relive the memories. The NICU experience was both the scariest time we've lived through and also the most miraculous time. We had to stand by as our little baby breathed with the help of a vent, CPAP, high and low flow oxygen...was pricked countless times for blood gas and sugar readings...received his food via IV's and feeding tubes...received about a dozen blood transfusions...had about every single organ (lungs, heart, brain, kidneys, eyes) looked at under a microscope...but we also were able to witness the miracle of such a tiny little life grow stronger and stronger as the weeks went by, and finally come home at 6 times his birth weight. Today, he is a typical toddler who captures the hearts of eveyone he meets. The March of Dimes is committed to research so that little ones like Matthew have chances at life. If you are interested in donating, our family website is http://www.marchforbabies.org/team/t1399671. Thanks again to everyone who has already donated!

Happy Easter

We had a very nice Easter weekend. Even though it was a balmy 80 degrees, Matty was a good sport and wore his sweater vest (at least for a little while). He received some great gifts, including books, summer clothes, aqua socks, sunglasses, bubbles, and a lifesize Thomas the Train. Even his Papo climbed in to conduct the train! Matty played outside with his lawn mower, found some Easter eggs and ran around all over the place. Then we enjoyed a yummy dinner at my parents' house.

Spring Days

The weather has been great this week up until today (storms moved in). We have spent a ton of time outside. I need to teach Matty not to throw temper tantrums whenever it's time to come inside though! His visit to the petting zoo was more eventful than his trip last year. He enjoyed petting some animals, riding the swing and slide, and pushing his stroller around. The warm weather has thrown his sleeping schedule off a bit however. He started waking up in the night again...I'm not sure if it's because he's warm or because he's dreaming of going outside again soon!