Kevin can be a little obsessive, to say the least. He’s obsessed with keys already, and in the last few weeks he’s been focusing more of his energy on obsessing about cows. He loves animals (how could he not, growing up in our house?) and particularly farm animals. Maybe he likes cows because it was one of the first animal words he could say clearly enough for us to understand? Who knows.
He has a book of animals that we read many times a day, and he always likes to go to the cow page (also featured: Bull and Piggy, which he loves to say). When we go past the cow page, he keeps his fingers there so he can quickly jump back at any second. Sometimes if he doesn’t hold his place, we’ll be a few pages past the cow page and he’ll have a panic attack and shuffle through the pages to go back and find the cow. When he finds it he always says “cow?” as if he’s very concerned about the cow and wanted to make sure he was still okay.
He still watches Baby Einstein movies sometimes, and his favorite is Baby Shakespeare because it features a cow. He knows when that part comes on and starts saying cow before it comes on. He always wants to go back and keep watching that part, but I try to make him watch the whole thing so as to not become a slave to the DVD remote, constantly jumping forward or back to the cow part.
I was at the movie store the other day and I looked through the whole kids’ section for the best cow movie I could find, and I found Barnyard. We had watched it before with Emily, so I knew it features a cow as the main character and had dancing scenes. He laughs at the movie and likes it, but then of course gets concerned about the cow in the Baby Einsten movie or the cow in the book, so we have to go check on them.
I guess a cow obsession is okay with me. At least he’s not obsessed with fire or throwing golf balls through windows or anything. Yet. I hope we can go to a farm and see and touch a real cow as soon as spring comes - I think he would get a big kick out of that.
In other news, Kevin is doing much better now. He’s done with his steroids and we’re just doing breathing treatments whenever we think he needs them, maybe one a day. He’s still a little whiny and tired, but other than that he’s back to his funny, dancing, book-reading, demanding self. It’s nice to have that boy back.
Before he got sick, we went to a gathering in Iowa City for the Heart Friends group that we are part of. It was in recognition of Congenital Heart Defects Awareness Day, which is every Valentines day. It’s just another chance for us to visit with other families of kids born with heart defects - we usually see the same people once or twice a year at gatherings. It’s always good to see kids growing and thriving, and not always being able to pick out the “heart kids” from the “normal kids”.
Kevin had a good time playing in the gym with all the basketballs and the other kids. He spent a lot of the time keeping an eye on the big bird that was roaming around. He never wanted to get close to him, but he did end up giving him five and playing catch from a long distance.
Finally, Kevin had a great time eating the cupcakes and cookies that we had around for Valentines day, so I had to post some of those pictures…
I just wanted to post a quick update. Kevin is doing fine, he is getting his breathing treatments every few hours and his oxygen level is staying in the 90’s so hopefully he will be able to come home in the morning. He is still pretty cranky and keeps pointing to the door because he wants to go home, can’t say I blame him!
Matt is at the hospital with Kevin for the night, I came home with Emily. I have been sick for a few days too, so I came home to sleep and will head back early in the morning.
Kevin was admitted to the hospital today because of his respiratory/asthma issues. We had avoided real sickness all winter, but it seems like everyone is getting sick in the last few weeks, and Kevin was no exception.
He got a cold last week but only had a runny nose and an occasional cough, so we weren’t too worried. But then on Friday night he started coughing more. We debated on whether or not to go to the Heart Friends gathering in Iowa City on Saturday morning, then decided that we would go and just turn around if he was coughing a lot while driving. He did well the whole time, but after we left he really started coughing a lot on the way home and didn’t stop. So we called the doctor on Saturday afternoon and got his steroids and breathing treatment meds refilled in the hopes that he could fight this off before it got too bad.
Unfortunately Saturday night was miserable and he was a coughing, whining, crying mess all day on Sunday. Sunday night was another bad night so we knew we had to bring him in to the doctor Monday morning.
They did a blood test, took his pulsox (92), and did a chest x-ray. They said he could probably go home and do alright, but they were more comfortable with him staying in the hospital so they could monitor him and make sure he doesn’t get worse. Although it’s no fun for him or us to have him there, we also don’t want to be debating tonight at 11:00 at night whether or not we should take him to the emergency room because he’s getting worse. So he was admitted and will probably stay just a night. We hope.
We’ve been getting a lot of snow here lately, and Kevin likes to stand on his stool and look out the front window as it comes down. The other day we got him all bundled up to go out and play (long process) and we thought he would have a great time. We were wrong! He liked standing around in it for a minute or two, but he didn’t want it to touch his gloves and he had no interest in actually playing in it. Emily had a fun time and of course Duke was jumping around as always, but Kevin quickly got tired of it and was okay with coming inside after about 5 minutes.
The other day he also managed to get Emily’s pink cowboy boots on and thought it was the funniest thing ever. I don’t know, I think he really pulls off the look, what do you think?
Kevin is now into the “terrible two’s” and he is getting quite the attitude. He still doesn’t talk all that clearly, but he has perfected the word “no”, using it often, with sassiness, and in the proper context. Is this progress?!
But along with his strong-willed determination and fascination for screaming is a growing sense of adventure and desire to do and try everything. I love this age because there is so much to learn and so many new things to explore. The screaming fits and occasional destruction caused is overshadowed by a boy with a big smile who always seems to be having the best day of his life.
He’s still fascinated with keys and has lost ours several times, leading to last-minute panic when we have to decide to either exhaust all efforts looking for where he hid them, or try to work out an alternate vehicle plan. When I get home from work, Kevin often greets me at the top of the steps with the words “keys?” - sounding like an addict who is desperate to get his next fix.
Another of his loves is the vacuum. He always wants to “help” vacuum and he often will be happy using his toy puppy vacuum, but he’s always obsessed with the real one. If only he could actually do the vacuuming for us…
He also loves to dance. I’m not sure he’s going to win any awards, but he certainly has his own style and isn’t shy about performing with all his heart. You know what they say, dance like nobody’s watching…
We were at the mall yesterday to listen to Dawn’s story-time at the animal shelter, and I took some video of Kevin just walking around. I thought it showed his personality - especially turning around every few seconds to ask “more?” because I had some Reese’s Pieces!
Also, I’m not sure we posted this yet, but Kevin now sleeps all night in his own bed. What a relief! He loves to give kisses and staring/flirting with the ladies, and he still loves reading books. Lots and lots of books. Constantly. Which I guess is a good thing, right?
Now I just have to capture his “other side” on video when he’s mad and screaming and clearing everything off the coffee table with his arm and hitting the dogs. The Terrible Two’s do exist!
So you may be wondering what the title of this post is about. WahWahWah is Kevin’s way of saying chihuahua and what he calls Pancho, our chihuahua. Kevin is talking so much more, the speech therapy is doing wonders. He is getting to be such a big boy with all of his words. It is nice to finally be able to decipher what he wants.
In the past week we finally put our foot down and Kevin is sleeping in his bed for the entire night. The first night was a little rough, but last night he only woke up once. I have a much more restful night of sleep without waking up to a two year old’s foot in my face.
Kevin has two new interests lately. He loves his keys. Actually he loves my keys. I rarely let him play with them as we have had lost keys on several occasions. We gave him a set of his own play keys, but he knows the difference and prefers mine. He also has started climbing into to cabinets. Mine are full so he can’t really fit all the way in it. When we go over to our friend’s, Nathan and Jeni’s, he gets in their cabinet as well. He just hangs out in there, not sure why, but he seems to like it. When we cleaned out our cabinets the other day he had fun climbing in the empty ones.
Now that Kevin’s appointments have past and all seems to be well I feel like I can finally breathe for awhile. I have gotten better, but his appointments cause me huge worry and anxiety. As I am sure all of you know Kevin is the sweetest little boy around and the thought of him going through more surgery breaks my heart. I sometimes feel like we live 6 months at a time. After each appointment I can relax for 6 months until the next one. Just when I start to feel sorry for myself I remember that they are thousands of parents that only wish they had their children with them to take to appointments. Even with modern medicine too many babies that are born with heart defects don’t make it. I am part of a few heart defect support groups and I am deeply saddened every time a child is lost. It also makes me more determined to not let the fear of that happening to us take away from the joy of having Kevin in our lives.
When Kevin 16 days old I was asking for nothing short of a miracle. You all know the story and know that what happened was extraordinary. While that whole experience was the most difficult time in our lives it gives me strength to get through the rest of it. These appointments are a piece of cake compared to the first few weeks and whatever the outcome we will handle it together and we will be ok.
So in case you were wondering, that is what I am thinking as these appointments get closer. As Kevin gets older he will have to deal with his own feelings about his health. I hope that I can be a good example for him and he will have a positive outlook.
I won’t ramble any longer Enjoy the video and pictures. The last few are Kevin self-portraits - he loves grabbing the camera and snapping pictures of himself, the ceiling, walls, and other random shots!
Kevin had his appointment today with Dr. Pyevich, his cardiologist. This was just a regular checkup and echo, since she has not seen him in almost a year.
Everything went well and there were no surprises. His blood pressure was good, his saturation level was at 98%, and she said things generally looked good. He had gained some more weight and now weighs 24 1/2 pounds, which puts him at the 8th percentile on the chart. He wasn’t very happy during the initial checkup, but he had a fun time in the waiting room with the other kids that were there.
Then came the echo, which we weren’t sure he would put up with at all. We got him laying down on some pillows and he was putting up quite a fit until we put a movie in the tv and the doctor gave him two suckers. Kevin loves suckers! So he was busy watching tv, licking each sucker and feeding them to us, and watching a light-up Pooh doll a nurse was holding. This kept him quiet and still long enough that they could get the views that the doctor wanted to see, much to our relief. We have an appointment scheduled for next Wednesday as well for a sedated echo, but hopefully this one will give them enough information that we won’t need to go back again. They will review the results in Iowa City on Monday and let us know if they want us to come in on Wednesday.
The only thing the doctor didn’t get a view of was his aortic arch, which had repaired along with his pacemaker surgery. To do that she needs to go up near his neck and he was having nothing to do with that. Since his pulse is good in his legs, she doesn’t think she will need to see that right now and it can wait another 6 months for his next echo when maybe he will be a little more cooperative.
After the echo we headed up to get a chest x-ray. Normally we do this before seeing the doctor, but it really makes him mad and we wanted him to be as calm as possible for the echo. We also didn’t have to do an EKG - either because they forgot or they decided he didn’t need one. This was a relief too, because he really hates getting all those stickers put on him and it’s a struggle for him to sit still long enough to get a good reading.
The x-ray was traumatic as always. The contraption they put him in to keep him still looks like something out of a torture chamber (see the pictures). We feel so sorry for the little guy, but he cries and takes it. They will look at the x-ray later too and let us know if there are any problems.
After the long morning, we stopped at McDonalds so he could “eat” some chicken nuggets and apple slices. We say “eat” because although he’s eating much better than he was, we always leave quite the mess under his high chair from the stuff he spits out or what doesn’t actually make it into his mouth.
So it was a slightly traumatic morning, but a good visit with no bad news - just the way we like it.
Kevin had a great Christmas. He enjoyed all of the presents and seeing family. I am so glad that he was not sick this year and was able to enjoy everything. For New Years we took Emily and Kevin to a water park in Burlington. Kevin wanted to ride the go karts so badly but had to settle for the little kiddie car ride. Emily drove the go karts and I think she drives a little bit like her mother!
Kevin has an echo on January 9th. We are going to try to do it without sedation, but I have a feeling we will be coming back for a sedated one. He is still very weary of Dr’s and nurses touching him. I hope we are able to get some good pictures of his heart. Last May was his last echo, so it has been awhile. I am assuming everything will be fine, but I guess you never know. Speech therapy is also going well. Kevin is saying more words and the words he says are much clearer. I think in a few months his speech will be much improved. Enjoy the pictures and I will post an update after his appointment on the 9th.
