I got to hold Auntie Maggie

Hi everyone,

I had a really great Thanksgiving....I hope all of you did too!! I got to see Grandma and Grandpa Hewlitt and all my aunts and uncles...and my new cousin Cicily Bea. I got to hold my Auntie Maggie, but I don't remember holding Uncle Rob...I'll have to go down to Texas and hold him as soon as I'm old enough to go to Texas. Maybe mommy and daddy will drive me there since I don't have a driver's license. How far away is Texas anyway?

So anyway, I spent the night with all my relatives at Grandma and Grandpa Hewlitt's house. They ate turkey and lots of other stuff. I just ate milk because I don't have any teeth to chew....but I'm working on growing some teeth....I'm practicing chewing all the time these days.

I was so excited to see all my aunts and uncles for the first time...except my Auntie Rachel. Auntie Rachel and I go way back to when I was still in the hospital. We have our own preemie language:)

Uncle Reid and Auntie Sue brought Cicily Bea, my cousin, with them. Cousin Cici is bigger than me, but I'm still older than her. She's got more muscles I think though, she can sit in a high chair all by herself....I don't have enough muscles in my body to sit up straight in a high chair, so I didn't get to sit at the table. Cici's so pretty....she has a really awesome smile and she's silly too. She kept looking at me and laughing so I guess she thinks I'm silly too...I hope I get to see her again soon!!!

Auntie Maggie and Uncle Rob brought my dog cousin, Annie, with them. Annie was great!!! She's the first dog that I've ever met and I really liked her because she was so nice to me. I got to feel her fur and she licked me on the face. I think that means she really liked me too....she even came to visit me at my house after thanksgiving. She layed down on my blanket and took a nap with me...I liked sharing with her.

I'm going to put more pictures of my Thankgiving on here so you can see them. I hope you like them!!!

My Crib, my room

I slept in my very own crib in my very own room for two whole days. Then mommy missed me and I got sick so I went back to sleeping in my craddle next to mommy and daddy's bed.

I have to admit I have lots more room in my crib to move around, but it's lonely in my room. Although....I do have a pretty cool paint job in there. And there's this light in the corner that I can talk into and mommy and daddy can hear me in their room. It's like a microphone or something.

I'm finally starting to feel better now....I'm not as stuffy and my cough is better too. Maybe when I'm all better I will sleep more nights in my crib. First I have to work on mommy because she misses me so much. I don't know what I'm going to do with her!!!!!

I am all sicky, YUCK

The last few days i havent been feeling very good at all so my mommy took me to the doctor and it turns out that im sick!!! Let me tell ya i had no idea how YUCKY being sick would be im all stuffed up and its hard to breathe sometimes!!! The good news is my doctor gave mommy some different kind of breathers ( thats what daddy calls my nebulizer treatments, so i play along dont want to spoil his fun!!) to help me while im sick and even some fancy stuff to clear up my nose. even though i got all that good stuff being sick is no fun at all, a little man uses up lots of energy just tryin to breathe when hes sick. I am feeling alot better now that i got the new breathers to help me but from now on if i have a choice i wont be sick again its way way too much work!!! hopefully i can get back to my regular old self..... ZANDER THE GREAT soon

Mommy's little helper

Look at me, I'm helping mommy do the laundry:) I decided that I would help her sort the different colors...but then I realized that I don't know all of my colors yet, and I'm too short to grab the clothes out of the basket. So.....I decided to sit in the basket and throw things out. I think it really helped mommy a lot!!!:)

How funny!

Today I got my revenge on mommy for all the shots I've had to get so far. See, mommy had a doctor's appointment today and first she had blood drawn, then she got a shot! I laughed at her when the lab people were taking her blood, but she thought it was because I was flirting with one of the other lab techs. But then when we were in the exam room, the nurse came in to give mommy a flu shot and I was just sitting quietly next to mommy. It was so funny because mommy was cringing and I thought she was going to cry. I had to laugh at her!!!!! Now she knows how it feels when a little Zander has to get shots...they hurt lots!

Now I just need to figure out how to get revenge on daddy. hahahahahahaha!

Yay for visitors!!!!

I got to see My Sonya today and she brought her mommy with her too! I'm gonna call My Sonya's mommy Grandma Jeri, just so you know....you probably should ask her if it's okay before you call her that. Anyway, Grandma Jeri was going to come visit me a couple months ago but she got some poison itchy thing. She told me that it was from a plant or something...I'm gonna stay away from those poison plants!!

She brought me a big, huge book call Itsy Bitsy Spider....it even comes with a little spider, just the rght size for me! I can't wait to read it and guess what???? It comes with a CD so you can play the song with it! Yay for me:)

I got to be held by Grandma Jeri and My Sonya....it was so awesome, I showed them how I can kick and move all over the place....and my smile too....I think mommy snuck a picture of me smiling....I wasn't watching, otherwise I would have stopped smiling, it's a fun game I play with mommy!!!

I got a shot yesterday for RSV...the shot is supposed to stop me from getting this RSV thing. Frosty, my visiting nurse came to my house so I didn't have to go to the doctor. Remember Tai? She's going to give me my shot next month because I have to have these stupid shots every month during the winter...don't doctors understand that baby Zanders don't like shots?! I haven't seen Tai since August I think.

Anyway, Frosty had to give me a shot. I'm going to try very hard not to hold it against her, she's only doing her job....but man oh man....it hurt!!!!:( I cried for a whole 3 minutes...then I was all better. :)

Frosty had to weigh me before the shot so she could figure out how much to give me. She did my height and measured my head too. I weigh 13 lbs and 4 ozs. and I'm 25 inches tall. I'm over two feet tall now...that's awesome! My head keeps growing too...it's 16 and 1/2 inches...If I'm not careful my head may be bigger than my height soon. I need to keep an eye on that.

Other than that, I don't have any new news...I've just been staying inside as much as possible because I don't like being cold. I hang out with mommy and daddy and have visits sometimes so I'm doing great!

Happy Halloween

Hi everyone, I hope you had a great Halloween:) I didn't go out trick or treating because I can't eat the candy. Mommy gave me the choice but I decided that if I didn't get to eat the candy then I wasn't going out in the cold! I did dress up though....can you see what I am? I'm a giraffe!!!!:)

I helped mommy pass out candy to all the kids who knocked on our door. Some of them were really scarey, but I didn't cry...not even once. Grandma and Grandpa Orr even came to spend some time with the little giraffe.

Mommy and I went to the NICU to visit the nurses and take them some candy and cookies. Daddy was sad because he had to work all evening. He really wanted to see our favorite nurses too.

It was a really fun night and I was sooooo good....I kept my giraffe on for a whole 3 hours without complaining about it. I'm so awesome:)

Chilly Willy

I don't know if you are aware of what I'm about to tell you....brace yourselves....It's COLD outside!

The tree in the front of my house lost all of it's leaves in one day. Mommy and I came home from day care one day to find the whole driveway covered in leaves and the whole porch covered too. Mommy decided to get my picture playing in the leaves before it gets too cold. Right after this picture was taken I had a seriously talk with mommy....it's true....I made her sit down and look me in the eyes while I explained to her that it's ALREADY COLD!!!!!!! She promised to keep me warm always from now on:)

Multi-tasking

This is my favorite picture because it shows just how smart I am. Do you see that I CAN hold onto my Giraffe, read a book, and exercise my legs.....all at the same time!!!!!!!!!! Has there ever been another baby who can do so much at one time?

I may not be able to crawl, or walk yet, but I can do three things at once! That's got to count for something:)

Addy and I

Here's a picture of Addy and me at her baby shower. She got lots of fun presents and there was yummy milk for Addy and I. We even wore matching clothes:)

Remember me???

I'm so sorry for not writing to you in such a long time...I've been busy spending quality time with mommy and just keeping busy in general.

On October 10th I had my follow-up appointment with the NICU. I first had my hearing test and passed my right ear really quick. But, my left ear didn't pass. It wasn't actually because I couldn't hear anything, instead it was because I kept grunting and making noises so I only passed 3 out of 5 of the parts. The hearing guy wasn't too concerned about it because he could tell I could hear, since I kept raising my eyebrows when I heard the noises.

After my hearing test I had to meet with Sharon, my developmental specialist. My doctor #1 was supposed to meet with us at the appointment too, but he was taking care of a very sick baby so he got to be absent. Sharon had a friend with her at my appointment, she works with developmental stuff too. They were really nice to me, and thought that my outfit was just perfect. In case you can't read my shirt it says, "cute, cute, cute...Nobody ever says anythingabout my brains". Sharon said that this outfit was perfect because her main focus is my brains which includes my movements and different skills. Sharon told mommy and daddy that according to my due date I was 2.5 months old, but I was acting like a 3 month old at my appointment. I guess I'll never understand this adjusted thing because I thought I was supposed to be 6 months....in fact Oct. 10 was my 6 month birthday. I hope that mommy and daddy don't make me wait an extra three months every year to get my birthday presents!!!

Then on Oct. 11th, I had my 6 month check-up with my Dr. Clark. Everything was going fine until those mean nurses brought out lots of shots. They poked me 4 times *pouts*. Mommy tried to be nice to me by having Grandma Domo give me some Tylenol before my appointment, but I still cried a whole bunch. I don't think I've ever cried that much in my whole life! Grandma Domo said it sounded like such a pain-filled cry. Mommy spoiled me the rest of the night because my legs hurt. What am I talking about....mommy spoils me becuase I'm me:)

I'm an artist!

It was my Grandma Domo's birthday on Oct. 5th. My mommy told me so, but when I asked my Grandma Domo....she told me she doesn't have birthdays anymore. Mommy told me later that sometimes Grandmas and Grandpas pretend that they don't have birthdays because they don't want to grow old. Well, I told Grandma Domo HAPPY BIRTHDAY when I saw her on the 4th, but I didn't get her anything because I wanted to make some special for her.

So today mommy helped me paint my Grandma Domo a picture. I did all the work, but mommy supervised and then gave me a bath after I was done. Did you know that paint makes you dirty??? I didn't know that, but mommy said so. I even put some HAPPY BIRTHDAY stickers on my picture for Grandma Domo.

I'm going to visit her at her house tomorrow, so I'm going to give her my special picture. My mommy said that my picture is even more special because it's my very first picture ever!!! That's right, I'm just now breaking into the Art World. But watch out, I plan on being a BIG NAME someday:)

Don't tell my Grandma Domo that I made this picture for her, she doesn't know yet!! I can't wait for tomorrow when I give it to her:)

Other than that, I'm doing pretty good. I had to go back on the Os on Monday, but I think I told you that. Anyway, I'm still on them....my Doctor Clark wanted to give me a break and let me breath easy for a little while. I have to go see her next week again, so she'll probably tell mommy and daddy to try me off the Os again. I can not wait until I don't need those yucky Os ever again!!!!! They mess up my smiles:(

Oh yeah, tomorrow is Addy's shower....it's going to be at my Grandma Domo's house and I got Addy an awesome present!!!:) Mommy let me pick it out all by myself. I hope Addy likes blue and green becuase I couldn't find what I wanted in Pink or Yellow. She should like it a whole bunch though because if I were her I'd love it. It's awesome!!!!!!!

So I'm going to see Grandma Domo tomorrow and then go to Addy's shower, and then I got invited to a NICU family reunion. Because I'm going to be in Cedar Falls tomorrow, I don't think I'll make it back before the reunion starts, but if mommy and me hurry, we can pick up daddy and maybe make an hour of the reunion. I'd really like to go, but I'm so popular that I get invited to lots of things...my appointment book fills up fast so it's first come first serve with me:)

Some good, some not so good

Today was a weird day! Actually, mommy says I was weird all weekend. I wouldn't sleep during the day at all. She and daddy both noticed that I would fall asleep for 10 to 20 minutes and then wake up. Well both Saturday and Sunday night I was very grouchy because I was so over tired....but I slept really good both nights. Mommy thought maybe I was just getting on a different schedule, but then today I wasn't hungry like I usually am and just felt like sleeping most of the day.

My day care provider called mommy and told her that she was concerned because I couldn't stay awake to eat and my O2 stats were lower than usual....well it's a good thing mommy and daddy plan accordingly...mommy told my day care provider to put my nose hose back in and mommy would call my Dr. Clark. The day care provider let mommy know that as soon as my nose hose was back in, I was waking up and breathing better too...and starving too!

But mommy called my Dr. Clark anyway and we met daddy at Dr. Clark's office because he was concerned about lil' old me too! My Dr. Clark checked me all over and listened to me for a long time and she said I sounded really good....just a little snotty and stuffy...but I didn't have a cold. Mommy and daddy explained that when I spit up, sometimes my formula comes out my nose. Mommy does her best to clean out my nose with salene solution and that nose sucker thing, but it just doesn't work that well. Mommy says she can't get it far enough into my nose to get the formula out all the time....She said she wishes she had the suction hose from the NICU, that works awesome!!!!

My Dr. Clark told mommy a secret about shooting the salene far up into my nose with a syringe.....no, there's no needle on the syringe sillies! My Dr. Clark said that I would sneeze and get all the gunky formula out on my own if mommy shot the salene way up in my tiny nose. My Dr. Clark also said that because my nose was stuffy and not running, I was having to work really hard to get air into me, which then made me really tired and start to get lazy. So mommy and daddy are to watch me closely because no one really thinks I need the nose hose anymore, as long as I'm not stuffy.

Mommy shot my nose with salene tonight and oh my gosh....I sneezed a big old sneeze and then the salene came out my mouth with some yucky formula...since I'm a boy and boys like gross stuff, I thought it was pretty cool...I didn't even cry!!!! I'm breathing much better now, but My Dr. Clark thinks maybe I should have the nose hose for at least a couple days to give me a rest...Otherwise I'm a really healthy boy.

Oh yeah, the good news is that my Dr. Clark thought I looked so big that she wanted me to be weighed, even though it wasn't a regular appointment. I weigh 12 lbs and 6 ozs. Want to hear the cool part? I've gained 30 ozs. in 19 days!!!!! Oh Yeah!!! Mommy immediately asked if mommy and daddy were overfeeding me, but my Dr. Clark said no, no, no.....if I'm hungry I can eat what I want. But she did lower the calorie count of my formula since I'm doing so awesome! Pretty soon I'll be just like other babies and not have a special diet....when I get to that point, I'm going to steal some of daddy's chocolate!!!!!! Woo hoo!

I have to go back next week for my 6 month check up and I think I heard mommy whisper something about 6 month shots...I think I'm going to hide from mommy and daddy on that day! But then again, I can't hide because I also get to go to the NICU for a follow-up appointment....I can't wait to visit all my lovely lady Nurses again!:) And don't forget my really smart doctors.....I hope they're all there so I can show them how strong I am!!!! I'll definately let you know how my appointments go....but for now....I think I'll take a nap:)

I've got a surprise for you!!

Okay, so today was my very first day at my new babysitter's house. That's right, mommy went back to work today. And do you know what???? I handled the whole situation better than mommy did. I got to eat, sleep, and watch the cool kids play...what more could a little Zander hope for? Mommy told me that it wasn't that easy for her, she was very sad to have to be gone from me all day. Just to make her feel better I gave her my biggest, brightest smile when we got home. She told me that my smile made her feel happy...I'll have to remember that in the future:)

Anyway, here's a picture of me this evening. Yep, I'm really tuckered out because I didn't sleep very much at day care. I was so excited to see my new friends that I watched them play almost all day. I even played along with them, only they can run standing up....I have to run laying down. But I can get my feet moving just as fast as those big kids!!!

But.......that's not my surprise. Look very closely at this picture of me. Do you notice anything???? Hmmm...maybe that I don't have a nose hose in my nose??? Oh yeah!!!! Mommy got a call from my doctor today and my Dr. Clark said that I didn't have to wear my oxygen for a whole week. Do you know what I think? I think she's testing me to see how well I do without my nose hose. My mommy told me I was right so I've decided that I'm going to work extra hard all week so that when they come to download the information from my monitors again, my Dr. Clark will see that I do just great without that stinky nose hose!!!! Isn't that exciting???? There might not be anymore pictures of my handsome face covered by a hose...from now on, you get what you see! I don't know about you, but I'm overjoyed to not have something sticking in my nose all the time.

Well, it's about time that I put mommy to sleep. I think I might have to lay down next to her since I'm a little sleepy myself. Besides, I need all the rest I can get....I don't want to miss a thing at the babysitter's house!

Relaxing and Loving It!

Since coming home from the hospital, mommy has been really easy on me. She lets me eat when I want and watch TV and pretty much do what I want to. She always let me do whatever I wanted to before I had surgery, but it's different now. I guess since I have my first surgery under my belt, I feel much older. Anyway, I got this cool Boppy thing at the baby shower last weekend and it's come in handy. Did you know that I can see the TV really good from this position??? That's right, I'm watching Cartoons. Mommy's friend Julie asked her what my favorite cartoon was and mommy told her I like all the cartoons that are brightly colored and fast moving....:) my mommy knows me so well!:)

Alright, I'm going to go for now....I think I can talk mommy into giving me another bottle before I go to sleep...it's so nice having her wrapped around my finger!!

Surgery is not fun!!!!

Here's me after my surgery on September 19th. And before you ask, NO IT WAS NOT FUN! Daddy kept telling me we were going to Disney World, but come on...I don't know any rides that hurt a baby at Disney World...and I haven't even been there before!

Actually I'm told surgery went very well, I was in the Operating Room for a whole 25 minutes and there were no complications. I did have to spend 24 hours in the hospital, but it was kind of fun because all my girlfrien/Nurses from the NICU snuck in to see me. However, I didn't get to eat for 6 whole hours before surgery and then the Nurses wouldn't let me eat afterwards either. All I was allowed to have was this pedialite stuff...it was okay, but not great tasting like my milk! I guess I survived though:)

Party!!!

Hey Everyone, I got to go to a baby shower on September 17th....and guess what??? I was the guest of honor!!!:) Oh yeah, there was lots of good food and new people to hold me. I definately made the rounds with all the lovely ladies that were there. I did my best to charm them with my good looks!! And who would of thought, I got lots of neat presents too....I got clothes abd books and bed stuffs and stuffs to suck on and play with....I have to tell you, these lovely ladies sure know how to shop for little ol' me!! I had an awesome time:)

Mommy lost the bet! I won:)

I had a pre-operation appointment on Wednesday of this week because I'm having surgery on the 19th. Anyway, my appointment was also a weight check and mommy was sure I was at least 11 lbs. She thinks I'm heavy.....and both my grandmas keep telling me that too. So anyway, mommy bet me that I was somewhere between 11 and 12 lbs.

Haha mommy, I win:) I weigh 10 lbs and 8 ozs. That's right, I'm 10.5 lbs which means I win the bet! Mommy couldn't believe it and thought that maybe she would get in trouble for not feeding me enough. But you know what? My doctor loves me!!! She said I look wonderful and that I am gaining approximately 1 oz. per day. She wouldn't stop gushing about how well I'm doing and how great I look. You know, I already know that I am awesome, but I like to hear people tell me so I let her keep talking.

And....you know what else???? I've been smiling a lot lately, it's kind of an addictive thing...I have noticed that when I smile at someone, they get a silly grin on their face and ask me to smile lots more times. I don't always grant their wish, because if I smiled all the time it wouldn't be as special as my random "Zander Smile". This weekend I'm going to show lots of lovely ladies my best smile and watch to see their response:) My Grandma Domo says that I get more cute every day...I think she's telling the truth, but I won't let it go to my head....yeah right:) Oh that's right....speaking of going to my head...apparently most of my weigh gain has been in my head. I'm 22 inches long now, which is only slightly longer that my last appointment. You know, I'm in the 50 percentile for height and weight, but guess what....my head is 41 cm in diameter...my head is the only part of my body in the 75 percentile, so I'm not kidding when I say I let things go to my head! Mommy says my head is big because I have lots of brains which make me smart. I think she's telling the truth too:)

Okay, I promise I will write again real soon. This weekend I get to meet lots of people so I'll have lots to talk about after Sunday afternoon...until then, HUGS!

It's my other grandparents!

Here's a picture of me with my Grandma and Grandpa Orr. I am so lucky to have lots of grandparents! Did you know that I also have lots of great aunts and great uncles too? I haven't gotten to meet them, but they send me letters and mommy talks to some of them on the phone. I've decided that they are just as special as my grandparents are....so from now on, they're all my grandmas and grandpas...YAY!!!

It's my grandparents!!!

Hi everyone, Sunday was Grandparent's Day. I got to see both sets of my grandparents on Sunday. Did you???? This is me with my Grandma Domo and Grandpa Bob. I get to see them at least once a week, sometimes more!!! I'm going to see their house for the very first time this coming Sunday, and I get to meet all their friends and neighbors:)