Day 47!

So you've all been wondering how I am feeling, haven't you? Well Mommy took good care of me last night and I started my medicine for my tummy this morning. I'm off my yummy apple flavored Pedialite and back to the normal old boring milk and formula. Man I can't wait to get old and drink juice! My nurse came and checked me out this morning and she said everything looked good.
Gramma came and visited today. She played outside in the snow with Jonathan and Daddy. Joshua stayed inside with me and Mommy.... but not because of me.... instead, he's addicted to learning how to play chess. He spent most of his day on the computer learning to play chess.... and he's getting pretty good! But, as you can see from my pictures, he still found time to love on me!
I'll let you know what I think of this medicine and we'll see how long I have to stay on it... so far no major side effects.
Me an my brothers did some posing on the boppy this evening... I think Jonathan might want one of his own... he keeps laying in it when I'm not! He likes my toys too... he's always playing with my stuffed animals that make noise... he's a silly big brother!

Day 46!

I'm not feeling so well today. Mommy and Daddy noticed that I had some brown and black stuff in my tube and so they called the nurse and the doctor's office. The nurse said to stop feeding me my milk and formula combination and switch to Pedialite. Mommy gave me some yummy apple flavored drink in my tube and in my mouth... it was supper yummy... almost as good as my gas medicine! The doctor wants me to start taking Zantac because he thinks that my tube is irritating my belly. We'll see if that helps. Just keep me in your prayers so that I don't have to go on a medicine everyday going forward!

Ms. Samantha and her two sons Noah and Caleb came by to drop off dinner and visit today. Joshua and Jonathan enjoyed playing lightsabres and hockey downstairs while Ms. Samantha visited with me and Mommy.

Mommy went out tonight and left Daddy with the three boys for an hour or so... and guess who cried the whole time... all four of them I think! :) No just kidding... mostly just me since I missed my Mommy. Daddy did a great job trying to get me to sleep... he did all the hard work but I left the reward of watching me finally fall asleep to Mommy when she got home. I think that made Daddy mad! :)

Any Given Day

James 4:13-15 “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.’”

Some have asked lately if things were looking up for us as they see pictures of Jacob apparently doing well on the blog. They assume that since he looks good and is gaining weight and has made it this far that perhaps there’s more hope than when we first began. The truth is… nothing has changed. Statistically and mathematically there is no hope. Jacob is a boy with Trisomy 18 which is a condition that usually takes their lives early. But the bottom line is that Jacob is a boy … a human boy… and eventually all our lives end. Nothing has changed. Statistically and mathematically there is no hope. Of course our faith in God has not changed either. So hope remains. Our hope is not only in a God who can do miracles and prolong Jacob’s life should He choose to do so, but also in a God who is merciful and loving enough to care for Jacob beyond this world when it comes time. That time still could come any day. It won’t necessarily be a steady digression… it could happen any night. Nothing has changed. We continue to live in the uncertainty which is Jacob. We’ve created a memory book of photos for Jacob and the front cover has his life verse printed on it… Psalm 27:14 “Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!”
We’ve had so many people contact us and let us know how Jacob’s story has impacted their lives and how his life has changed theirs. That’s truly encouraging and just one evidence of one of the little reasons that God brought him into this world. We’re kind of forced into living and appreciating one day at a time and I wonder how many of you reading have taken the time to consider doing the same. Every day. It’s a gift. Someone once told me that you should sit down and write your own obituary or what you want printed on your tombstone. What would you want people to say about you after you died? If you can write that down, then you have a mission statement for your life. Is what you’re doing right now contributing to or taking away from that statement? If you truly want people to say that you loved your family, then what are you doing today to love your family? Wouldn’t it be a shame if that was your goal but instead your tombstone read “Worked a lot,” “Loved Bowling” or “Unfaithful”? The truth is many people put off things that are important thinking that they will have time to fix it later in life. Most never do. Our life is a puff of smoke that appears for a moment and vanishes away. We never know when our last day will be.
We’ve tossed that idea around our house lately… If we could, would we want to know when Jacob’s last day was or not? Karen says that she could hardly stand the pressure of just knowing when his birthday was going to be! I guess the point is that if we’re living each day as we should, then it shouldn’t matter what day it happens.

Hebrews 9:27-28 “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”

Day 45!

Here's a shot of me and Mommy today.... but first I have to tell you about a funny story that happened last night after I posted my blog. Me, Mommy and Daddy all sat down on the couch to watch "Across the Universe" (because Mommy used to be a HUGE beatles fan) and of course I fell asleep. Well, little did Mommy know that she was sitting on my OG tube. No big deal because it was all capped off and I was wrapped in blankets. Except.... the cheap end on it broke off and so my whole stomach drained slowly out of my blanket and on to the couch and Mommy's bottom! She never even realized it until she stood up and felt my blanket all wet! This picture reminds me of that little incident because she has a smile on her face like, "I have to love him.... even when he pukes on me without getting a drop on himself!" and I have a look on my face like, "Yes! I got her!" :)
So today I went and saw the doctor... now that he's back from his little escapade to Disney World... (without me!) And he weighed me buck naked and I'm...... 4 pounds 4 ounces! That means I've gained 7 ounces in the past two weeks! Much better than the loss of 2 ounces last time I was in there! Everybody was very happy! All the nurses came and goo goo'd over me...I wonder what they do when I'm not around? My poor brother Jonathan even tried to get pink eye just to get some attention but even then he only ended up with a sty in his eye!
We went and picked up Joshua at Gramma and Grampa's and had lunch with them. I slept through most of it... Joshua and Jonathan played Hide And Go Seek with Daddy... but I'm not very good at hiding... I'm always in the same spot.... and it's hard to seek when you're sleeping!
Mom went home and took a nap since she was up worrying about me last night again. So I took a nap on Daddy's chest out on the couch. My brothers took very good care of me and played quietly by themselves after their nap so that me and Daddy could get a little shut-eye.
I enjoyed listening to Mommy finish the Wizard of Oz book with my brothers before they went off to bed tonight. Me and Mommy are heading to the couch but she's been talking about putting me in a swing all day so we'll see how that goes if she remembers. Hope you had a as relaxing and hope filled day as I did!

Day 44

Today was a day of discovery. First off, we discovered that Joshua caught whatever that Daddy had the other day. Thankfully he's a lot younger and recovers a lot faster... he puked it out, watched a couple of hours of Transformers on the couch and was as good as new! He was kind of sad not being able to hug and kiss on me though! Again I ask... can you blame em?

Second I discovered something called a Boppy.... and man do I LOVE IT! Here's some shots of me sleeping in my Boppy. See... it makes me happy! I think it makes Mommy and Daddy happy too because they finally found something besides their own chests that I'll sleep comfortably on. Mom and Dad actually took a nap together today! Oh... and it makes me sleepy too!

I discovered some really cool lights in the dining room... Daddy held me and let me watch them for a good 15 minutes. I also discovered myself in the bathroom mirror after my bath today. I'm a pretty good looking fellow!

Lastly I discovered these fly new pimpin' clothes... whatdya think?

Day 43 - 6 Weeks Baby!

Well 6 weeks and I'm still truckin'! Here's a shot of my birthday brownies from my 6 week birthday celebration! Bet you wish you were there don't ya? Well ... at least you can watch the video on the sidebar!

Last night I kept Daddy up pretty much the whole night. Daddy relieved Mommy around 1 AM and I decided to remind him what Mommy's been going through with me for the past couple of nights! He gave up somewhere around 7:30 and called in for backup! Can you believe he could say no to such a beautiful face?

The ladies from CompassionNet and Essential Care came over today to gawk at me and my pictures and scrapbooks and website... I guess they also talked to Mommy and Daddy about some stuff.... but mostly just goo goo'd and gah gah'd over me! Can you blame em?

Gramma and Grampa came over for dinner and my 6 week birthday party! Mommy had to run out because she was going shopping with some of the girls from church. They went and bought all kinds of scrapbooking supplies for the Children's Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit nurses. When I was in there they took such good care of me and one night they made a poster of pictures of me. But, they had to work with hospital tape and whiteout and their printer had just died. So we used some of the money from our fundraiser and bought them a new photo printer, ink and paper, and all kinds of scrapbooking stuff (scissors, stickers, paper, punches, etc). This way, when other special babies are born there they can do an even better job of surprising the mommies and daddies when they come to see their babies! I sure hope they like it! Since I had Daddy all to myself again while Mommy was out I decided to stay awake and fuss until Mommy came home.

But Jonathan helped take care of me!

Day 42!

Today was such an exhausting busy day that we almost went to bed without having taken any pictures of me! So here's a shot of me in my sleeper ... but don't get any ideas... I got my dukes up ready to fight!

So we got up and went to church this morning. In the middle of service me and the whole family went up on the stage for my baby dedication. It turned into a family dedication since Mommy and Daddy never did it for Joshua or Jonathan. My brothers really enjoyed it since we all got little Bibles as gifts from Pastor Joe. Check out the video of the ceremony on the sidebar! Gramma and Grampa came and watched and we went out to lunch afterwards.

Did you know that there are people all over the world reading my blog?!?? Isn't that crazy? We get messages from Texas, California, British Columbia, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands just to name a few! I'm a global celebrity! Well, at least that's how I was treated this evening when I went to the spaghetti dinner in my honor. I got to meet all kinds of nice people who were thrilled to meet me and my Mommy. Unfortunately we had to leave early because Mommy dropped my dinner on the floor and didn't have a backup... and BOY WAS I MAD! Gramma and Grampa took us home so we could get some more milk for my belly!

Thanks for your prayers for my Daddy... he's still feeling a little weird and trying to avoid breathing on me in case he still has something... but after sleeping and going without food for 30 some hours (and if you know my Daddy... he usually has trouble going without food for 30 some minutes) ... this morning he was able to eat a bowl of cereal and at lunch he ate half his meal (which again... if you know my Daddy...) by dinner he was eating Pancakes with Joshua and Jonathan... I know! Pancakes for dinner!??!? That's what you get when you let Joshua pick out what's for dinner! So I think he is on the road to recovery. Please remember Mommy in your prayers too as she has had the sole responsibility of taking care of me while Daddy wasn't feeling well. Hopefully I'll let her get some sleep tonight....

Just A Reminder For Tomorrow

Spaghetti Dinner in honor of Jacob!

Date: Sunday February 24, 2008
Time: 4 PM
Location: Faith Lutheran Church
2730 Transit Road Newfane, NY
Steve Sprout, a missionary from FamilyLife will be speaking.
There is no cost for the dinner, but a free-will offering will be taken.

If at all possible, please consider joining us this weekend and feel free to pass this information along!

Day 41

Today was a rough day for Daddy. This will be a short post because he barely has the strength to lift me up to type on the keyboard. He was sick in bed ALL day because his belly didn't feel good.

Joshua and Jonathan enjoyed the art lady coming over to color with them. Here's a great picture of them "painting."

Here's another precious shot of me and Joshua going nose to nose.

Me and Mommy got to take a cat nap on the couch in the setting sun.

And Mrs. Dolly and Mr. Keith came over with their son Josh and daughter Aubrey and brought us dinner! Of course, Daddy didn't eat any because his belly was still upset. Please pray for all of us to stay healthy and not get what Daddy has.

Well I hope everyone feels better tomorrow! Talk to you then!

DAY 40!

I decided to be awake this morning at around 4:30 AM... Daddy was right there with me the whole time... but I don't think he was half as awake as I was. He kept patting my back but then slowly drifting off into sleep... and then he would come back again. Kinda like my breathing. I've been doing a lot of apnea stuff... where I just stop breathing for a little while and then slowly catch back up to speed! Mommy and Daddy do not love this... it freaks them out.
So Mommy and Gramma took Joshua and Jonathan to the aquarium today. Here's some shots of the fun that they had outside. So this left me all alone with Daddy. Since we had such an exhausting night... I decided to sleep through most of the day. We listened to the radio and Daddy kept trying to take a nap with me but people kept waking him up. Poor Daddy... maybe I'll sleep better for him tonight... probably not!
When the boys came home and told us about all the fun that they had this is how I felt:
It's okay though... Mommy was home to snuggle and take care of me so I got over it quick. I missed her. She spent a lot of time with me strapped to her belly tonight as she worked on a photobook. Joshua read us all bed time stories... he sure reads well for a 5 year old! Then Daddy read us Bible and prayed and put my brothers to bed. Now that everybody else is ready for bed it's about time for me to wake up and cause trouble! Tell you more about how that goes tomorrow!

Jesus and Children

Mark 10:13-15 “People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’"

I know that “Jesus loves the little children” and He used them as an example of the trusting faith that we must have in Him in order to enter the kingdom of God…. and I think about Jacob and his situation. He HAS to have faith in us. He HAS to trust us. His very survival relies upon it. He HAS to trust that we’re going to feed him, and change him, and bathe him and clothe him and keep him warm, and the list goes on…his faith and trust in his parents is what keeps him alive at this point. Is our faith that vital in our own lives? Do we daily depend on God for our every need, or do we try and take care of everything ourselves and fit God in when we can? That wouldn’t work for Jacob… if we just fit him in where we could he would not survive.

Matthew 18:1-6 “At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: ‘I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.’”

Jacob is a great example of humility. He can’t boast of anything. Anything and everything that he is, has done, or will ever do is by the sheer grace of God. That’s obvious to us. He can’t even feed himself… he needs his parents to push food down a tube into his stomach for him! But what may not be as obvious to some of us is that the same is true for me, you, the homeless man down the street, Bill Gates, the president of the United States and every one in between. We must humble ourselves and acknowledge that God is sovereign in our lives and He has given and He takes away and regardless of our individual situation He is to be praised for what He has done! Jesus then equates Himself to how we treat children. He does so also in the following passage:

Matthew 25:34-43 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Jesus reminds us that whatever we do for the “least of these” we did for Him. I have to admit that at 4:30 AM when I want to sleep and Jacob wants to be wide awake it’s hard for me to remember that this is my meeting with Jesus. It’s hard for me to remember and enjoy my meeting with Jesus sometimes when Jacob has peed, pooped, and puked all over himself, his clothes, his blankets and the couch! But did He not say, “I was sick and you looked after me?” Whatever you did for the least of these… you did for Me. What an honor it really is to hold this precious image of God in my arms and to love him, knowing all the while, that my love towards him is being accounted to Jesus on my behalf as well. What we do here on this earth to the “least of these” will have eternal consequences. What have you done today for the “least of these?”

Day 39!

Here's a shot of me and my big-big-brother Joshua before he went off to swim class today. Everyone always thinks I'm such a "sweet little angel" so I decided to show you my feisty side today!

I scared Mommy and Daddy a lot last night by holding my breath a lot. Sometimes they pat my back and talk to me... sometimes I just come out of it... if I turn ugly colors then they flick me in the foot! That hurts and it makes me cry! But they say that red in the face is better than grey in the face!

Later on Mommy thought it would be funny to feed me orally and then run off with my brothers... leaving Daddy behind to clean up my poopy diapers and my puke... Daddy wasn't as impressed! We had fun together though while they were all gone.

My nurse came today and she weighed me... and according to her scale.... I'm officially 4 pounds 4 ounces! Woo hoo! Broke the 4 pound barrier! Linebacker here I come!

Tonight I made my first visit to Jonathan's favoriate restaurant in the world! Ms. Kathy brought us a gift card for Applebee's last night so we decided to go out for dinner. My first night out on the town! It was fun. I slept through most of it. Mommy brought my meal with her... I guess they don't serve my special kind of milk at restaurants!

Day 38!

Mommy decided to stay up with me last night and was expecting to be up with me or at least get me to sleep on her chest like usual, but I decided to be a big boy and sleep in my bouncer all by myself all night long! Boy was Daddy jealous when he heard that Mommy got to sleep without me!
I did a lot of hanging out with my family today! Here's a neat shot of me that Mommy took while I was in Daddy's arms. And here's another one of my and my brothers! Aren't we adorable?

Ms. Kathy brought us a wonderful dinner tonight... my brother's kept saying how yummy it was. Jonathan even ate his green beans! Jonathan never eats ANYTHING green! I AM A MIRACLE WORKER! Speaking of which... did you see the comment from Nickie Oman on Day 36 of my blog. I just read it today and wanted to make sure everyone saw it... because this is what my life is all about. She writes, "Anyway I wanted you to know that because of you and your strength I have rededicated my life to Christ and found my church family again after falling away for almost two years. Your family is so beautiful and you are all such a wonderful light for our God and Savior Jesus. Thank you for helping me get on the right track again." God is sooo awesome that He can even use a 38 day old boy to influence people all the way across the country!

Here's a shot of me, Joshua and Jonathan listening to Daddy read Bible before bedtime.

Spaghetti Dinner For Jacob

We've just been informed of another church which is sponsoring a Spaghetti Dinner in honor of Jacob!

Date: Sunday February 24, 2008
Time: 4 PM
Location: Faith Lutheran Church
2730 Transit Road
Newfane, NY
Steve Sprout, a missionary from FamilyLife will be speaking. There is no cost for the dinner, but a free-will offering will be taken. If at all possible, please consider joining us this weekend and feel free to pass this information along!

Day 37

Today was a nice lazy day hanging out with Daddy and Joshua. Yesterday I had fun with Joshua building a train in the basement. Today we played Transformers for the better part of the morning. I slept a little. Then me and Daddy slept on the couch while Joshua watched Transformers on TV. Jonathan was at Gramma and Grampa's most of the day, so the house was a little quieter and thus easier to fall asleep.... but I did discover one thing... my THUMB! Check out the pics of me sucking on my thumb! Who needs a pacifier anymore!??!
Aunt Nancy came over to visit today and somehow while she was holding me I managed to pee on her and the couch! They thought they had me covered up during my diaper change but I showed them who is boss!

Gramma and Grampa brought Jonathan home and brought us dinner. I slept through most of it. I did a lot of sleeping today... Mommy's not going to like that tonight!

Eating is going well for me. Mommy and Daddy just keep pumping me full of food and I'm loving every minute of it. No doctors appointment tomorrow so we'll have to get the nurse to weigh me later this week so I can give all you "weight watchers" an update!

Don't you love my cute little outfit!

Day 36 - My 5 Week Birthday!

Buscia came to visit me today and she brought Grampa's cousin Elaine with her. We had a nice visit and they stayed for lunch so that they could take turns holding me while the other one was eating! Neither of them wanted to put me down or give me up!

Ms. Kelly came out and dropped off dinner for us... including birthday cookies! She couldn't stay and hang out though so no picture... sorry!

My nurse came out to check on me today and she said everything sounded good. I managed to gross out a nurse... now that's impressive. Mommy pushed on my hernia to show her the cool squishing sound that it makes and I think she almost threw up! She had never heard anything like that before... it's really cool.

Mommy and Daddy decided to spread me out with all of the cards and letters that we had received... check out this picture...see if you can find the one that you sent me....

I also got a picture of me in my 5 week outfit. I got my dukes up ready to go since my great papa says I'm going to be a boxer. I guess I'd have to be super mosquito weight....

Gramma and Grampa came out to celebrate my 5 week birthday! Of course they sang to me again... this time with a candle in a plate of cookies! Jonathan went home with them to spend the night at Gramma and Grampa's house.... maybe someday I'll get old enough to do that too!

Day 35!

Today was my second day in church. I did a little better than last week listening to the sermon, but I noticed that I might be a bit of a distraction for others around me. No, it's not that I make noise or squirm around or make a scene like some children... but some of the ladies in our row just can't stop looking at me. I think I might be a stumblingblock for them because I take their attention off of the message because they watch my every move! Maybe next week I'll just stay outside so as not to cause them to be distracted! :)

After church Ms. Angela and her son Joe came and brought us a TON of groceries. There were so many she had to bring them in a laundry basket! She also had Joe pick out some really cool toys for my brothers which they loved! It was nice of them to stay and visit with me and my family!

Aunt Josie came over today by herself.... I don't think she wanted to share me with uncle Tony or Matt-man! She didn't even want to share me with Daddy or Joshua and Jonathan... she snuck over while they were all taking a nap! She brought Mommy a pretty Trisomy 18 bracelet that her friend Rosemary bought for a gift. It's really pretty and it has my birth stones on it!

We spent the evening on the couch as a family reading books... first Mommy read and then Daddy read. Joshua and Jonathan like it when Mommy and Daddy make funny voices! I just like to hear my brothers laugh... it makes me smile on the inside! Me and Mommy fell asleep on the couch while the other boys were getting ready for bed. Mommy was up early with me, so Daddy sent her to bed so that Daddy could teach me one of the more important things about being a boy... we went downstairs and watched TV together! No, it wasn't sports... but give it time I'm sure hockey or basketball playoffs won't be far off!

Day 34!

First I want to encourage you to watch the "We Live" video on the post below this one! This is what happens when Daddy gets bored because I'm not home to keep him busy! I think he does great work! (Really Jen Santora and Jen Allis did most of the hard work... he just put it to music and made it fun)

So since Jonathan made us do the emergency evac last night I hung out with Mommy at Gramma and Grampa's all morning until we knew it was safe to return home. Daddy and Joshua apparently had cleansed the house of all sickness and Jonathan was feeling better so we headed home. Good thing... my numbers didn't like sleeping at Gramma and Grampa's!

It sure was nice to see Daddy again! As soon as I came home he kissed on me and told me how much I'd grown since last night.... he's so silly. My brothers were really happy to see me too.. especially Jonathan since he wasn't allowed to get close to me when he was sick and now that he was better he could come and love on me again!

Tonight we went to church for the Valentines Day Chocolate Feast Fundraiser for me and Children's Hospital Nicu. I'm including a shot of the spread above in case you missed it.... YOU REALLY MISSED IT! There was so much delicious yummy gooey goodness we didn't know what to do with it... literally! We had to send plates home with people! It was soo good to see all the different people who came out to see us... people from church, family from all over, friends, Peggy from my cardiologist's office, Jen Santora from First Light Photography, and of course the highlight of my night... some of my girlfriends from the hospital came to see me! I was especially delighted to see Ms. Blayre... Mommy was kind of upset with me because I had been sleeping all night long but as soon as I heard that Ms. Blayre was there I woke right up so that I could see her! Here's a shot of me and Mommy and my NICU girlfriends! I was kind of sad that Ms. Peggy and Ms. Amy couldn't make it but I know that they were thinking of me!

Mommy and Daddy were excited about the money that was raised tonight because they want to give back to the NICU that took such good care of me while I was there. Mommy especially liked it when the nurses took my pictures and surprized her with them the following morning so she wants to get them some photo equipment and materials to be able to do that for other babies and their mommies. It was a great way to show that I was being loved on even while Mommy and Daddy weren't by my bedside (which wasn't often!) So to all of you who came out tonight and gave of yourselves and your time: THANK YOU SO MUCH! (but don't blame me when you have a belly ache from all that sugar!)

We Live Video!

Just A Reminder..If You Can Make It ...Great!

Valentine Chocolate Splurge to Benefit Jacob Fahmer
This Saturday February 16, 2008 6:30 - 9 pm
Grace Baptist Church 2525 Eggert RoadTonawanda, NY 14150
A portion of the proceeds will benefit Children's Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Hosted by friends of the Fahmer family

Anyone and everyone is welcome to attend, but if you know ahead of time that you and your family or friends are coming, please let us know. The contact information is below. We will be serving chocolate as well as many other kinds of desserts, coffee, teas, etc...If you would like to help in any way please contact Del and Chrissy Reid @ reid.chrissy@gmail.com

Day 33!

What a crazy day! My night was good. I spent a lot of it with Daddy on the floor ... but my numbers were great! We got up early because me, Mommy and Jonathan had an appointment we had to go to. We headed straight to the cardiologist's office from there... but since it was Friday and we were on the run, Mommy and Daddy decided to get Joshua and Jonathan a treat at Tim Hortons for the car ride... boy would they regret that in a couple of hours!

Good news is that my cardiologist looked me over and also did an echo of my heart and he thinks that my "ductus" is still open but even after it closes that my numbers shouldn't drop too much. He doesn't think that I'll need lasics for draining my lungs and that there is pretty good flow through my mangled heart. I guess that's good news.... hate to see the bad news huh?

We stopped at Ms. Jenn's house from First Light Photography to pick up some pics of me and the fam. They are BEAUTIFUL! She also made us a pretty cool little DVD with a slideshow of my pictures on it. She's great!

On the way home, Jonathan kept saying that he didn't feel good ... and he wasn't lying! As soon as we got in the house he threw up all of his vanilla frosted pink sprinkle donut all over the living room rug! Boy did it smell! It made me want to throw up too... but it just went up my tube! We were hoping that it was just a little too much sugar from Valentines day and donuts for breakfast, but no luck... he threw up two more times in the afternoon and once right before he went to bed. He must have some kind of bug.

So this screwed up our weekend all together! Aunt Josie couldn't come visit today and Derrick and Nicole were supposed to come with their daugher from Binghamton tomorow and now they can't! Mommy and Daddy were kind of worried about me getting sick so we pulled an emergency evac out of the house tonight... Joshua and Mommy helped pack me up while Daddy took care of pukey-Jonathan and Grampa came and picked me and Mommy up to take to his house for the night. Daddy and Joshua are going to try and air out the sickness and get Jonathan better while we stay at Gramma and Grampa's. So I gotta go explore a new house so no more time to blog tonight... hope to see you at the Valentines Fundraiser tomorrow!

Day 32 - My One Month Birthday!

Happy Valentines Day Everybody! I hope you had a good one... mine was GREAT! I started my day by sharing valentines with my Mommy, Daddy and brothers. Here's a picture of some of my valentines... I am so loved. I got valentines from my family, from Gramma and Grampa, from my homeschool friends, and even from friends in Delaware... wow.

Later on Mommy's friend Stephanie came over with her two sons. They brought us dinner and valentines... but really I think they just used that as an excuse to come see me! Can you blame em?

Gramma and Grampa came over for a Valentines Day / 1 Month Birthday Lunch. We ate pizza and chicken wings ... you should have seen my brother Jonathan's face! It was hilarious! He had barbecue chicken wing sauce all over his entire body! Then everybody sang Happy Birthday to me and passed me around so they could all kiss on me a little bit.

After the boys nap we all headed over to see my great Nana and Papa for the first time! They haven't been able to come out and see me and so I was very excited to go see them! They couldn't believe how little I was and they just kept smiling at me and saying how beautiful I was. Great Papa especially liked how little my fingers were... but he said he thinks that I'm going to be a boxer since I always keep my fingers clenched together so tight! One little cry out of me though and he was afraid to keep holding me... passed me off to my Mommy! Maybe I'm losing my touch though... no tears from anybody tonight! Great Nana made dinner for us of course... even though we told her not to. She had two chickens in the oven... both of which weighed more than me! Almost twice my weight! That great Nana... always making more food than anyone could possibly eat!

I took a little nap on the ride home and until the boys went down to bed. After I woke up Mommy gave me a bath and then we hung out on the floor together while I blogged. We spend a lot of time on the floor lately. Last night Mommy, Daddy and I all fell asleep on the living room floor. Daddy woke up sometime and snuck off to bed leaving me and Mommy there for the rest of the night. We were up to eat or course but I'll sleep just about anywhere other than my bed! (as long as Mommy or Daddy are right there with me!)

There's also some new videos for you to check out along the sidebar! Enjoy!

Day 31!

Wow.... we're about to break the 15,000 visitors mark since January 29th. Thanks for all the interest in my life... it means a lot to me and my family! Well I spent most of the night on the couch with Mommy or Daddy last night... I have them wrapped around my very little finger. Even when I pull my tube out like I did last night, Mommy just comes along and puts it back in for me! Late last night and early this morning Mommy and Daddy did a photo shoot with me.... they're so silly... they make me do the most ridiculous things. Check out some of the goofy pics below.

I went to see my doctor again today. Bad news: I'm down to 3 pounds 13 ounces. There goes the 4 pound barrier again... but my doctor has a plan to bust me right through it this time. We're going to increase my food and beef me up so I can be a linebacker... or at least be more than 4 pounds! More bad news: my doctor has the nerve to take a personal vacation next week so I can't go back and see him for two weeks.... so we'll just have to get the visiting nurse to weigh me so you all can be updated. I like her scale better anyways...it says I'm 4 pounds 1 ounce!

I did two things for the first time today that every little kid should do: 1. I visited the mall (my brothers were there with Grampa while I was at the docs) and 2. I rode my first merry-go-round! It was awesome! Actually, I think I slept through most of it. Can you believe that no one brought a camera? Geesh.

Mommy's cousin Jill came over to visit today with her little daughter Emily. Since she's a doctor I figured I'd get a chance to do the whole, "Look-At-Me-I'm-Not-Breathing" thing but since I was wireless it wouldn't have been as dramatic as in the past so I just slept a lot.

After dinner our whole family played a game where we had to throw little bean bags at a tic tac toe board... I wasn't very good at it.... but it sure was fun and everytime we played it made Mommy laugh until her belly hurt!

After my brothers were in bed I helped Mommy and Daddy make valentines for them for Valentines Day tomorrow (which also happens to be my 1 month birthday!)

Here's to breaking the odds....

Day 30!

((My brother Joshua took this picture of me... not bad for a 5 year old, huh?)) What a night! I'm spoiled... I decided that I didn't want to sleep alone in my bed so I fussed until Daddy gave in and took me to the couch with him (which only took about 2 seconds)! We slept on the couch until early morning but then we had to get all packed up in that nasty car seat (have I mentioned that I hate the car seat?) and head off to the cardiologist office again. This time not only did I see the cardiologist, but my pediatrician, my home nurse and the lady from CompassionNet were there! They all just wanted to get together and sit around a big table and talk about me. Can you blame them? I am the hottest blog writer on the internet after all.

I continue to freak people out. This time it was my oldest brother. Mommy and Daddy left me alone with Joshua for a few minutes while they got ready to leave and somehow we managed to get my feeding tube out and spew my stomach contents "all over the couch," (according to Joshua). Joshua was pretty upset because he thought he did it, but honestly, I think I hooked it with my finger and jogged it out myself. I hate that thing.

The best part of that whole experience was that Mommy decided to leave me wireless for a better portion of the morning. No pulse/ox connection and no feeding tube! I could go out into the world like everyother 4 pound baby... or maybe not....anyways... once we came home mommy let me suck on a bottle nipple that actually had something in it ... it wasn't that dumb pacifier... I finally found the GOODNESS! I drank about 17 cc's without throwing up!

Gramma watched Joshua and Jonathan while we were gone and hung around until Buscia and Tom came to visit. They braved the nasty weather to come see me and brought Costanzo rolls for lunch! MMMmmmm!

Ms. Erin came and dropped off dinner for the family. They all really enjoyed it. Joshua especially enjoyed the yummy cupcakes.


My cardiologist is not a fan of my pulse/ox machine and he told Mommy and Daddy to "screw the pulse/ox monitor" ...whatever that means. So whatever it means, Mommy has left me unplugged all day! No more annoying beeping everytime I stop to pass gas! However, I will miss watching Daddy trip over it everytime he tries to move me around the house. Mommy says I'll still have to be on it throughout the night and from time to time to check on my progress but this way people can look at me instead of some silly machine.