MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM HOLDEN, MOMMY, DADDY & ALEX.

Overall, it was a great 1st Christmas with Holden. Of course we had the typical choas that most families deal with at this time of the year, but all I had to do was to look at the little Monkey to be reminded what this season is truly about. It is about the love that we feel in our hearts and want to share with everyone! And while Holden is lucky to be so loved, we are the ones truly blessed to have him in our lives.

Although we were not able to be with our whole family, as one of Joanne's girls had a cold and ear infection and Reece's sister is not coming into town until this week, we did have the rest of our family here for Christmas Eve. It was great to see him play with his cousins and we can't wait for him to spend time with all of his extended family coming this week!!

Holden had fun riding on his Race Day truck that Santa brought him.

The little Monkey did a great job opening his presents. If I would have known that it was the paper that he'd get excited over...

It has been awhile since I've updated the blog. I'm literally falling asleep typing this, so I'll write again soon, so I can tell you more about all of our friends and family that we've been able to visit with recently. We are so happy that slowly everyone is getting a chance to meet our little guy. More soon...

We're Back Home...

Holden was discharged from the hospital on Friday afternoon. By the time we left, it was clear he was feeling better. He was full of energy and smiles as if he knew we were heading home, back to his puppy dog, his toys and his first Christmas tree. After several nights of interrupted sleep, we both slept great last night and were sleepy heads this morning.

We're back at Scottish Rite

Reece and I made the decision to bring Holden to the Scottish Rite Emergency Room on Monday evening, as his work of breathing and oxygen requirements had increased. And we could just tell that something wasn't right. He has struggled and in my opinion has never fully recovered since his reflux/hernia surgery. Doctors admitted the little guy so they could take the time to try to figure out what is going on. They quickly ruled out RSV, Flu, etc. Based on an echocardiogram, it does not appear that his pulmonary vein stenosis has gotten any worse - of course the cath in January will be much more exact. After discussing things, Holden's specialists think his medication for the pulmonary hypertension may be the cause of his lungs getting wet and thus creating some of his recent respiratory struggles. Although it would seem we could just stop giving him the medication causing the problem, we have to be very careful and mindful as we make changes as Holden is still fragile and sensitive to change. And so much of this is relatively new territory for doctors as pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary vein stenosis are new conditions and certainly not very common. Doctors plan to keep the little Monkey here for a couple more days so they can monitor him as they slowly begin weaning him off this one medication. The hope is that he will respond favorably to the weaning and his lungs will no longer store the excess fluid. This should mean he won't have to work so hard to breath and that slowly we'll be able to reduce his oxygen levels to where they were post surgery.

Holden seemed much more himself today and was flashing his sweet smile at all the nurses and doctors. We were able to wean him a bit more off his oxygen and slowly his work of breathing is improving. Hopefully we'll be home by the end of the week. And in the meantime, I just continue to pray for Holden's healing.

A tough week for the little guy...

Holden had some respiratory issues this week and we are not exactly sure why. We know his lungs were wet and he was requiring more oxygen. It could be another cold or it could be complications from his ASD (hole between his heart's upper two chambers) or our worse fear, it could be his pulmonary vein stenosis progressing. We feel like we had one foot in the emergency room all weekend, until this afternoon when the little Monkey seemed to start feeling better.

I pray for and expect a Miracle for Holden, however, no matter how positive I stay, weeks like this scare the heck out of me. It is a reminder of how fragile the little guy is. And a reminder that we need to enjoy each and every day. I gladly left the house a mess, so I could snuggle with the little Monkey when he felt poopy. It has never taken me so long to decorate our Christmas tree - but that suddenly did not seem quite so important. I know y'all are already praying for Holden, and I thank you! He's in God's hands so I am convinced he can make it through all this.

We plan to schedule an appointment with his cardiologist, so we can hopefully determine why he's been struggling more this week.


On a lighter note, our friends Ken and Carol brought Holden a gigantic singing "Happy Holiday" balloon on Friday. Today, as he started feeling better, he was obsessed with it. He would pull it close and try to wrestle with it. And without realizing how, he would suddening make it "sing". And that would put a huge grin on his face. And even when he wasn't playing with it, he wanted to know where it was at all times.

I love how such simple things like a balloon bring him so much joy!

A Week Full of Fun and Firsts...

It has been a busy, but good week. When my nephew Robbie came down with strep throat, we had to modify our Thanksgiving plans splitting my family into 2 households. Reece, Holden, Grandpa Dave and I headed to Cleveland, GA to spend the day with my sister Joanne and her family. My sister Rosemarie and her family, along with my Mom celebrated in Gainesville. And although we missed them, we still had a great day and I think Holden had a good first Thanksgiving.

After dinner, Daddy, Holden, Grandpa Dave, Steve, Ariana, Alyssa and Alex went for a walk. As you can see, Holden loved getting out.







He also had a blast playing with his cousins, Melina, Ariana and Alyssa. I think it took him a couple of minutes to determine that there were 2 different girls who looked the same. But once he did, he loved all the attention he got from both of them.
















Holden was tugging on his ears alot late last week so we took him to his pediatrican and determined he has his first ear infection. He's on anitibiotics and we're already seeing improvement.

Yesterday we went to visit our friends Mark and Julie who were our photographers at our wedding and we've kept in touch all these years. As a baby present, they gave us the wonderful gift of taking family photos. I don't want to give too much away, as we plan to use a couple of the photos for our Christmas card, but I will tell you that Holden was a Rock Star. He hung in there for nearly 2 hours, more than 6 "poses" and 2 outfit changes. He made Mark work hard to get a smile, but we definitely got it!! Near the end, the little guy literally just laid down on the set and took a nap...too cute!


Today, he felt his first snow flake. There was not enough snow for it to really make an impact, but he liked being outside in the cold.

Tonight, we took the little monkey to get his first Christmas tree. It was so cold, we did not dilly dally. And as it turned out, the first one we looked at was perfect. Holden seemed to like the change in weather and was not phased. He came home full of energy and wanting to play instead of go to bed. But he finally settled and is hopefully dreaming of all the fun he's been having lately!!

Holden's first glimpse at Christmas...

We had a great time with Holden at a Stone Mountain Christmas. From the moment we drove up, he was fascinated with all the lights and music. You can see in this picture he was full of smiles for Grandma Deda! He likes people watching, which you can definitely do there.

Holden did great meeting Santa, but we decided not to put him on Santa's lap since we're being extra cautious about exposing the little guy to germs (not that Santa has them, but there are lots of kids sitting on his lap that do!) We'll look forward to that experience next year.

The Park's Santa (Ed) is awesome and he's got a big heart. I believe he's been the Santa there for the past 19 years. If you've never been to a Stone Mountain Christmas, I would definitely recommend it. It is the perfect holiday outing if you are looking for something the whole family can enjoy together. And no, I do not work there anymore, so this is not a paid endorsement (ha ha!)



Although we only stayed 2 1/2 hours, it was the perfect length of time for an infant and it was a night I'll remember forever.