The Dinosaur Museum

The other day, we took Mason and Peyton to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point along with Mason’s best friend, Ty and his brother Jordon! The boys thought it was so cool. They loved all the dinosaur fossils and Peyton thought it was cool to look around and see things other than his home. We took lots of pictures and I thought I would add them to this post. Mason and Ty were also able to uncover fossils in the sand. Enjoy the pictures!

The Boys

So, I don't really have anything new to report, so I'm just going to post pictures of the boys that we took the other day. They were being so cute together! Enjoy!

The Cute Boys

It's been a long time since I updated so I figured I'm probably due. I'm attaching a few pictures of the boys. Ashley came down this last weekend and stayed with us and she did Mason's hair one day. If you ask Mason what it is, he says "It's a faux hawk!"

He now asks for his hair that way everyday. We gave him a haircut last night and we might be able to do his hair that way but maybe not...sorry Ash! Today we tried to put Peyton in the walker. He doesn't really hold his head up and he's so small that even on the shortest setting, his feet still dangle. It was really cute though!


And then Peyton is just so cute that I had to add another picture!

Peyton is also back on the oxygen because he has a cold and it helps him to breath a little easier. We are also giving him breathing treatments with the Nebulizer. Just one more thing to hook him up to a few times a day! He is getting big and growing well. He had his 6 month check up yesterday and he weighed 13 lbs 7 oz. He still isn't doing much but that is to be expected. We are hoping that he will roll over in the next little bit. Anyway, I've got to get to some boys! Enjoy!

Peyton's Doctor's Appointment

Just an update on Peyton's appointment this morning with the cardiologist. It took us almost 2 hours to get to the hospital this morning and we missed his appointment but they still saw him. They are taking him off his blood pressure medicine, he is done with his two addictive meds that we have been weaning, and we are taking him off his oxygen! He is doing just fine without it but we will keep it around for a few days just in case. He also didn't throw up this morning after we fed him. We are changing his feeding schedule so that he gets most of his milk in the night while he is asleep and it will be continuously going in him through the night. That means that mom and dad can actually sleep again! So, all is looking good. The day continues to get better so hopefully that will keep up with the appointment for Peyton's helmet this afternoon. Our prayers go out to Justin and Shandy at this time and we pray for a speedy recovery for Shandy. We are thinking of you all the time!

No More Hospital Pictures...

...for now! Peyton is home and doing well. He will not take a bottle so he has a feeding tube. We got a pump for his food last night and it is so much easier to hook him up to that then having to hold the syringe up for 45 minutes to an hour while he eats! We met with a speech therapist yesterday about his eating and hopefully she will be able help to teach him again. She believes that right now, he is associating eating with throwing up because he has been doing a little bit of that. Most of what he throws up is mucus and not his food but it still can't be fun! He is on oxygen and it's not real fun to make sure you never step on the cord...especially for Mason who thinks it's a toy! And I can't begin to tell you how many times I have tripped over it even when I know it's sitting right in front of me. We go to the Cardiologist tomorrow and they will do a chest x-ray and an EKG. We are also going to the helmet guy tomorrow to have Peyton's head scanned again. He hasn't had his helmet on since Saturday because it was giving him sores on the side of his head. And his face is red and blotchy because of the tape and things to hold his oxygen on and his feeding tube in place. But other than that, he is doing great. It is fun to have him home...although I don't sleep much at all! He laughs and smiles and is a pretty pleasant baby. He is on 8 different medications and they are scattered throughout the day from 8AM to midnight. It's a good thing I keep track of them or else I would probably forgot most! Anyway, I've rambled on long enough. Attached are a few cute pictures...Enjoy!

We're coming home!

After 6 long weeks in the hospital, Peyton is finally returning home! He is getting discharged in the next couple of hours. He is looking really good and we are really excited! We will post pictures and more updates after things settle at home.

Peyton's Throat

I'm finally getting around to putting the pictures of Peyton's throat on here. The picture on the left is the narrow part of his windpipe. The picture on the right is the way the rest of his windpipe looks.

We are aiming to go home in the next couple of days and Peyton is continuing to get better and he is looking really good! He is starting to cut a tooth and I was rubbing his gums yesterday. He was smiling and laughing while I did it. It's the first time I have heard him laugh so it was really fun! Here are some pictures of Peyton and then one of his helmet with the Colts symbol drawn on it!

Peyton Got Moved!

Peyton got moved to his own room last night. He is doing well since I am staying up here. He doesn't have a lot of time to get mad because somebody is always with him. He is looking good but we've got to figure out his feeding some time so he is not on the pump anymore. I will post pictures later when I'm home and have a chance!

Our Anniversary

Last Thursday was our 4th anniversary! I can't believe it's already been four years. It's amazing how time flies by. And to think that we are the parents of the two cutest boys ever! For our anniversary, we stayed in a hotel on Friday night in Salt Lake City. We took Mason with us because he has been with so many different babysitters that I had a hard time leaving him again. They had an indoor pool and spa so we took Mason swimming and we had a really good time. Here are some pictures of that.





And here's an update on Peyton! Last Friday, he was moved to his own room on the floor. It was a big step. By Saturday morning, he wasn't doing so well. He was really upset and his nurse was with another patient. The doctors happened to be doing rounds at the same time and came to see him. He was screaming and his heart rate jumped really high. Since nobody was there to calm him down, they decided to move him back to the ICU and back to the high flow oxygen. When he's in the ICU, there is a nurse with him all the time and if he starts to get mad, they can calm him down pretty quickly. Since Peyton had been getting pretty mad lately, they decided to have an Ear, Nose, and Throat Doctor come and look at him. So, Saturday afternoon, they put a scope down his throat to look at everything above his vocal cords. Everything looked really good and they decided to take him to the OR on Monday, sedate him, and look with another scope past his vocal cords. They were worried about a spot just below the vocal cords but when they looked, that spot wasn't the problem. His vocal cords are a little swollen from the many times he has been on the ventilator. And as they went further down, they found a small area of his windpipe that is narrower than the rest. The part of the windpipe that goes into the lungs looks really good and the narrowing is above that. The only thing they can do about it, is to keep him on a little bit of oxygen to keep it open if he gets mad and to watch it. When he gets mad, that area constricts and makes it harder for him to get some good breaths. The doctor thinks that as he gets bigger, it will continue to open up a little more. So, we are watching and waiting! He was going to be moved to his own room again but they are going to keep him in the ICU until his bed space is needed so that he can have the one-on-one with the nurse. He is doing well, though, and hopefully he will be able to come home in the next little bit. There are some pictures here of Peyton and also of Mason with his brother when he was in his own room. Mason hadn't seen Peyton since before the heart surgery on the 18th of December. He was really excited to see him, but wasn't quite sure about the helmet on his head! Sorry for the lengthy post but I thought I'd give most of the details and save everybody a call! Enjoy the pictures!




P.S. I will try to post the pictures of Peyton's windpipe that were taken with the scope later today. Then, you can actually see the narrow part!

One of my cute sons!

I went to see Peyton today and to talk with a nurse practitioner about the game plan for Peyton. He is still on the high flow oxygen and they are planning on weaning him off of that tonight. By tomorrow morning, he will hopefully be on regular oxygen. The plan is to monitor him for about 24 hours on the regular oxygen and move him to the floor by Friday! We are almost there! He is looking good but was a little fussy today. He hasn't had a fever for about 3 days now which means they aren't drawing blood all the time and sending cultures. I think we are finally nearing the end of this hospital stay. And we continue to hope that this will be the last one for awhile! Here are a some pictures that were taken today of him looking at his toys!

Sometimes I hate computers

So, the other day I tried to post a video. As you have probably noticed, it didn't work. Well, it worked for me just not for everybody else! I wrote and edited the post, previewed it, and the video was there and ready to be viewed. But then, when I actually posted it on the blog, it wouldn't come up. So, if anybody knows how to fix this small problem, please send me a comment and hopefully I can get the video up and running.

In other news, Peyton is doing well. I will also post the two pictures from before again because I can't seem to see those either. Peyton got his helmet on Saturday and so now it's time to break out your helmet to support my child for the next year! We are trying to decide if our Christmas picture next year should be our family with helmets on or not! He looks so cute in the helmet and it seems so big on him...yet it seems so small when it's off. He has been smiling the last couple of days and he even cooed at me once yesterday. He has been having low grade fevers so the doctors continue to send cultures in hopes to figure out why he's having fevers. My theory is that he's almost 5 months old and he's probably getting teeth! But, while he's in the hospital, they have to continue to cover all the bases. Good news though, yesterday he never had a fever! So, anyway, he's doing well and he is acting like himself again. Enjoy the pictures and if anybody could help out with the non-technological savvy person on this end, it would be greatly appreciated!

Peyton being cute!

This morning Peyton was taken off the CPAP and put on the high flow oxygen. Tonight we went to see him and he was awake and smiling. Of course, when we turned on the camera, he wouldn't smile for us. Nonetheless, enjoy the video and a couple pictures that we took!

Peyton (Who Else?!?) and Mason

Yesterday afternoon Peyton was taken off the ventilator again. This time they put him straight on to the CPAP. They have continued to keep him sedated so that he won't get terribly agitated and raise his heart rate and his temperature. They were considering taken him off the CPAP tonight but the nurse practitioner said no because they want him to be completely ready to be off that. He is doing well and he continues to look better and better everyday. He is getting bigger too! His nurse last night drew a Colts symbol on his beanie that he has to wear with the CPAP. Montana thought it was so cool! This picture was taken today of him.

Last night it snowed a whole bunch. We had probably 6 inches, at least, in our yard. So Mason and I played in the snow this morning with his best friend Ty! They had a blast. We tried to build a snowman but I got tired about halfway through and the boys didn't seem too interested after that. Here's a picture of Mason in his snow clothes, one of him outside in the snow, and one of the snow that we got last night!



And of course, I have to tell a funny story about Mason. We were driving home from the hospital on Sunday and my dad was sitting next to Mason in the car. Mason kept running his finger down the side of my dad's face. I finally asked him, "What are you doing to Grandpa's face?" He responded with, "Just putting a booger on him". That brought on a lot of laughter! Also, we were driving down the freeway the other day and we drove past a big semi with letters on the side of it. Mason said to me, "Mom, those are ABCDEFG's!" He is so cute and getting smarter and smarter everyday.

Peyton's Getting Better!

Yesterday morning, Peyton was taken off the ventilator and put on high oxygen flow in his nose. They also started to wean his sedation medication. He is completely off the fentanyl, which is for pain and stronger than morphine. So, last night, Montana and I went to the hospital to see Peyton. When we walked in, it looked like they had shaved his head. He has rubbed off most of his hair while laying in bed. He was also sitting up with the help of his nurse. He was wide awake and they let us hold him. It is the first time since before his surgery. It was so much fun! And he is getting heavy. He now weighs about 10 lbs. 9 oz. He was watching us and looking around. He even tried to smile at me but then Montana took a picture and he stopped. Then, when we got home, the hospital called and told us that his oxygen levels weren't staying as high as they would have liked them to be so they put him on the CPAP machine which is a step above the high flow nasal and a step below the ventilator. They felt like they jumped the gun a little bit with going straight to the high flow. The pictures that are posted are from yesterday when we were there. Enjoy them and keep little Peyton in your prayers!

Happy New Year

Yesterday, when we went to see Peyton, he opened his eyes for me and looked around for a little bit. He even let me get a good picture. So, enjoy this one of him! It's the first time that I have really seen his eyes since before surgery.

He seems to be doing really well. The pneumonia is pretty much gone but he still has fluid around his lungs. They are giving him medicine to reduce that fluid. He is being weaned off the ventilator and will hopefully be completely off that in the next couple of days. All in all, he is looking good and improving every day.

Also, after I saw Peyton today, I showed Mason a picture because he always wants to go and see him. While he was looking at the pictures, he turned to me and said, "I just wanted to love him and kiss him". He misses his brother so much and asks us every day if Peyton is going to come home!

This next picture is of Mason dressed up in his new Sunday Suit. Doesn't he look handsome?!?

And, of course, we want to wish everybody a very Happy New Year. We can't wait to write up our goals and get started on them. We look forward to a great year and many blessings as Peyton continues to heal and recover and hopefully come home soon!