Home of the Four Trans

I haven’t kept much track of Justin’s age. In fact, I often forget how old my son is (14 months). There are 2 reasons for this:

1. His Size. He’s been growing very slowly compared to other “normal” babies, that his size does not change enough for me to realize how much time has gone by. We’ve had him in this baby stage for a very long time.
2. My Perspective. I don’t count the days, anymore…You know, the days before the weekend, before Christmas, before birthdays, before his next surgery. I take each day as it comes, and pray that that day and our following days are just as beautiful.

While I do not obsess so much over his chronological age, I do take note of his every development. It’s a joy to see how he’s growing physically, cognitively, and socially.

Here are some highlights:

Roller Baby: He doesn’t quite crawl or walk yet (but, we’re working on it), but that doesn’t keep him from getting into things, and moving from place to place. He loves to roll! He’ll roll to the cable box to push the buttons. He’ll roll to his brother to grab a toy away. He’ll off the bed so his Papa could catch him. We call him our Rolley Poley Ollie!

Babbling: He says a lot of ba, ah, ma. Lately, he’s trying to learn how to say Hi and Bye. I think he has the most beautiful sing song voice. Whenever I sing to him, his face lights up, and he responds by babbling in this cute singing voice.

Waving: He can do the side to side wave, or the backwards to himself wave…on command! Yes! He understands. Very exciting.

Fake Crying/Whining: He’s beginning to know how to get what he wants…by crying or whining. The funniest thing is when he whines to get Nathan in trouble. After Nathan pushes him on the ground, or whacks him with a toy, or throws something in his face, he’ll look for me first to make sure that I had seen what had just happened. Once I start to scold at Nathan, then he’ll start crying for extra effect.

Rolling/Creeping towards a toy fire truck.

Stopped to pose for a picture for Mommy.

Unsuspectingly gets whacked in the head with some very hard balls while posing for a picture. I was in the midst of taking a picture of a smiling Justin when Nathan came up from behind. Things can get rough around here.

Head Shaking: When I ask him a question, I’ll ask at the end, Yes? or No? If the answer is Yes, he’ll nod repeatedly with a smile on his face. If the answer is No, he’ll shake his head from side to side repeatedly with a smile on his face. Again, he understands…Very exciting!

Putting toys in the basket: He knows how to do this on command!

Thank you everyone for following Justin’s journey. Though these milestones may seem so boring to some, they are like little joy nuggets to us, and we want to share them with you.

He’s been through 2 open heart surgeries (BT Shunt and Glenn) in his short time on this earth, and twice, he’s passed on us. But, time after time, he’s given this life to live, and we are grateful for every moment that he has with us, growing and thriving.

I realize some are concerned about whether or not he’s there, with his cardiac condition the way it is, and with the damage from the stroke. I cannot say for sure because I do not know…I don’t think anyone does until he gets older. But, what he’s been showing us are great signs.

Please continue to pray for our little miracle baby.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 at 12:39 am and is filed under Baby Book, Heart Disease, Justin, Pictures. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.