*there's his first flight

Oh Will. I think it is only fair that we record what your first trips on a plane were like. Maybe so we know what to do differently next time or maybe so you can laugh at us later. Either way, it was memorable and worth telling.

December 24th. The day before and morning of our trip to Pennsylvania for Christmas you were running a low fever. The same as about a week before so we treated it as if it were the same virus. You were your typical self except when the fever ran a little higher - then you got grumpier. You slept a little more but not very soundly and your appetite was low. We decided it was worth it to make the trip anyway.

Here you are (in short sleeves because of the fever) with our luggage and your car seat.

Airplanes!

We were so surprised at our luck that morning. We didn't have to wait at all to check in. Not a busy morning at the airport. We went through security fairly easily thanks to your Daddy who did most of the work. I had the important job of taking my shoes off and on and holding you. A luggage cart was easy to find and you even rode on top of it! Our gate was RIGHT NEXT to the airport play area so you got to play while we waited for the plane. When we got on the plane you played with a cup full of Cheerios for at least 20 minutes, including during the take off that you didn't notice was happening.

One of the many pictures you took of the seat while playing with your Daddy's phone.

You poured Cheerios out on the seat. Picked them up one at a time. Brushed some on the floor. Ate a few. When the Cheerios got boring you then sat just like this and watched shows on the Ipad.

Isn't this perfection?

The last 5-10 minutes of the flight did not go quite as well. You were upset when we had to take the Ipad away after the announcement about turning off electronic devices. So you cried. And squirmed. And tried to get out of our seats. But only for a few minutes. We were patient because we knew your ears may have been hurting you too. Also, it helped that there were 2 other kids on the plane that had been crying for most of the flight so in comparison you were a U.S. Airways star. I talked to the parents of those kids after we landed. It was their first flight too and the mother literally looked like a deer in headlights. She and her husband complimented your behavior. We talked about how it was stressful to fly with kids and I told the mother that we kept telling ourselves "It could always be worse...we could be doing this with 3 kids". She didn't seem very comforted by that.

Our luck continued when we landed. As we walked up to baggage claim there was one bag out and ready to go and it was ours! Then we caught a shuttle to the rental car office and you LOVED it! Daddy pointed out that we were on a bus which led to singing The Wheels on the Bus, complete with arm and hand motions. Your face was so happy. It was as if we were getting to watch the light bulb go off in your head as you made the connection between the song and an actual bus. I wonder if you were thinking "So THIS is what a bus looks like. The doors really do go open and shut."

Riding the luggage cart at the Philly airport.

Your view of the luggage cart through the eyes of a camera phone. You took several pictures of this!

Having fun on the moving hallway.

The one difficulty we had that day was getting your carseat in the rental car. Any time that carseat has to go in a sedan it's always an ordeal...it is no one's fault...but very frustrating...and eventually we got it in despite the mild argument it caused between me and your Daddy. We brought your favorite CDs to listen to in the car for our drive to Reading and that put us all at ease.

The return flight. Oh My.
Problem #1: Our bag weighed too much. If we couldn't find a way to make it 8 pounds lighter we would have to pay an additional $90. Yes that says ninety dollars. We quickly resolved that situation by removing Chris' new Carhart coat that obviously weighs about 10 lbs alone.

Problem #2: Security was not quite as smooth this time. I can't actually speak to the specifics because that burden fell entirely to Chris once again while I was holding you.

Problem #3: As we are walking towards our terminal we were suddenly rerouted due to construction. We could have proceeded to it inside the building on foot, but it would have required another trip through security and Chris' response to that was "No way". So we squeeze unto an unexpected elevator and end up in a very short line to go outside and get on a bus to drive us to our terminal. Problem #3a: I had already put your coat into our rolling carry on bag so you were barely covered from the cold wind. Problem #3b: Getting on a bus meant that Chris had to abandon our beloved luggage cart that was necessary to transport my carry on luggage, Chris' laptop bag, your car seat, our coats, and our diaper bag. This moment would be deemed by him as "worst moment of the entire trip/month/maybe even the whole year".

Since this is another rare bus ride you were ready to strike up "The Wheels on the Bus" once again. This time with a large audience of disgruntled travelers who were all angry about this inconvenient detour. And this bus was a very large city sized bus. I'm sorry to say that as you smiled a huge smile, loudly babbled to yourself, sang, and did the hand motions to your happy song no one around us appreciated the excitement of the moment in the say way you did. 

Problem #4: We made it to our gate only to learn that our plane had something wrong with it and they were waiting on maintenance. Our plane was a small one which equaled a very small gate waiting area which equaled us having to sit on the floor for awhile.

During our stay we took you to a walk-in clinic because of the low fever that wouldn't go away, your endless runny nose, and just general sickliness. They gave us a nebulizer to do breathing treatments with and it worked great. The F39 gate picture above was my viewpoint during an airport nebulizer treatment. And a tube feeding. Surrounded by others also sitting on the floor.

What would we have done without this thing?

Problem #5: We waited on maintenance to come take care of our plane for over 2 hours. We eventually were able to secure real seats. Chris and I took turns letting you roam about the terminal.

Climbing on Daddy

Problem #6: You had a little trouble tolerating one of your feedings. That is a nice way of saying that you threw up on me and you both. As you can see in the photo below you have changed from a yellow shirt to a red one.

Problem #7: Although you had fun marching around and looking at everything during our wait...there was one section of the terminal hallway that had an odd effect on you. We still have no idea why but for some reason in this same spot you would start crawling on your hands and knees every time we walked there. I don't have a phobia of germs but something about the floor of an international airport screams YUCK! at me.

Problem #8: When we were finally able to board, we sat down in our seats to immediately discover that you had a diaper that needed to be changed. That was an ordeal that I won't describe here but it is MY least favorite part of the whole trip/month/maybe even the year.

Problem #9: At this point we have all had a long day. Now we have crammed you into a small space where you were expected to be at least a little bit still and quiet. That didn't happen.

Window shade up...

window shade down...

Those shades on the windows make a very loud slamming noise every time they are pushed down. So I put my fingers there to block them from closing completely. Which was a little bit painful but worth it.

After moving the window shade 37 times you then decided to try to escape.

I don't have more pictures but I can set the tone of the rest of the flight by saying the entertainment didn't work as well as it did the first time. And you were much more determined to get away from that seat and find something else to do this time. And just like that last bus trip...onlookers were not amused or delighted to be traveling near an active toddler.


Problem #10: We get to our airport and you are officially hyper. So tasks such as waiting for a checked bag and going to the bathroom became difficult and exhausting. Basically I gave you the freedom to run all over the rental car waiting area. But I did have to chase you out of the men's restroom and keep you from breaking your neck on the escalator several times. Then there was another close call with a possible vomiting situation...

I think that's it. If I remember anything else from that day I may or may not type it up because forgetting may be best at this point...

Since most of this was unavoidable (unless we had just stayed home!) there really weren't many lessons learned. I can say we will probably never fly with U.S. Airways again. I don't remember when or why we decided the airline was a large part of the problem that day. But at the time Chris made this declaration I was in agreement. One of the bright spots I can acknowledge was that we had the wisdom to get direct flights. Having to switch planes at another airport would certainly have made the problems list much longer!

*there's check ups and growth

Will's 18 month well check was today. I suspected he had gained significant weight lately...over the past two weeks he has suddenly seemed really heavy. The scale confirmed - Will has finally left the less than 3rd percentile in weight AND height! His weight is now in the 3rd percentile and his height is in the 4th! So he didn't leave that area by much...but it is so nice to see the dots that are plotted on the graph actually land closer to the desired area!

The big surprise at the appointment is that Will has his first ear infection. I was hoping he would be magically exempt from regular illnesses like those. :) Also, he has been on a daily antibiotic for months to prevent infections...ear infections must be the exception. I'm sorry that he hasn't been feeling great. At the same time we are relieved to know what was wrong because he had a really tough time sleeping last night.

Last week was his hearing follow-up. Will has always passed the hearing screenings but he has several risk factors that could affect his hearing so he is monitored every 6-12 months. This is the first time there has ever been less than perfect results. We have to return in a few weeks for a recheck...the audiologist believes that the left ear could have some fluid left from a recent cold. Ironically, the left ear looked fine today but the right ear was infected! We will also return to the pediatrician after a round of antibiotics to make sure the infection is gone.

So this month's tally: audiologist check up, audiologist follow up, pediatrician check up, pediatrician follow up, a surgery, and a surgery follow up 10 days later. After that Will won't need to be seen again by a doctor (cross your fingers) until he turns TWO in November! Can it be?? Six appointments in one month and then NO appointments for SIX months?!?! I hope I didn't jinx it!

*there's our first weekend apart

Chris and I went to Knoxville recently to see friends, eat good food, run a 5k, and visit some of our favorite places. Spring is perfect in Knoxville. 

On our way to the expo to pick up our race info at World's Fair Park.

The Sunsphere

Market Square during the Dogwood Arts Festival

shops and restaurants at Market Square

more of Market Square

Will had a fun time with his grandparents, the family dogs, and our cousin Elliott while we were gone.

Will's new teeth total is 4. He tends to get one tooth that comes in really slowly. Then it is joined by the tooth next to it which catches up fast and the two finish poking through together. Here are the bottom two:

Click on the picture to get a better look.

Getting a shot of the top two is going to take awhile. Playing with the camera is just too much fun to him right now. He has been learning to follow some directions from us so eventually we will be able to say "Smile!" and we'll finally get a picture of all of his teeth.

*there's good news

Will's physical therapist told me today that he is in the 90th percentile for his adjusted age for gross motor skills! What?!?! No more PT! That is such good news! I had stopped asking about percentiles because his prematurity is still skewing his development.

90th 

90th 

90th!

If you are trying to keep track, Will is about to be 17 months old, 14.5 months old adjusted. It is really hard for a 2 pounder to be in the 90th percentile of ANYTHING!

*there's a sign

I have tried to teach Will sign language for "more" and "all done" for months. It wasn't working so I gave up forgot about it for awhile. Today I showed him the sign for "please" and he used it almost immediately! These pictures aren't of him actually signing "please" but he is sort of celebrating it with silly faces.

 

 

Will actually just used the "please" sign so I would pick him up and put him in my lap while I'm blogging. It's hard to type while he's pressing buttons on the keyboard!

This is a picture of Will in Daddy's Phillies hat. He no longer has a fear of hats and he is really fascinated with this one.

And these are some pictures of Will before his recent haircut. The first pictures above show his new and probably temporary shorter look. His hair was so long and curly it was literally falling in ringlets. You can't see his hair well in these shots because I was really taking a picture of him eating a pickle. But you might get the idea. I miss those curls already. I hope they grow back soon.

*there's walking!

He's walking!
Pictures or maybe video to come...

*there's a great check up

Today we went to see Will's cardiologist. Possibly the easiest appointment with a doctor yet. And we left with the best news. We've been waiting to hear that he doesn't have to come back for a year. Last time he said to return in 6 months.

So we check in...

are sent down to the first floor to get a chest X ray...

 go back upstairs to the doctor's office...get a weight and length check...blood pressure taken...ekg..then we wait. The cardiologist said that everything looks and sounds great and we don't have to come back for a year!

We even got to see our old social worker and Will's primary nurse from the NICU. Overall, a good day. I forgot my camera so these were taken with my phone. It's the annual picture with the Circle of Peace Statue!

Deciding what he thinks

Trying to find a spot

 2010, age 3 months

2011, age 15 months

First words report: 

"O?" (for Hello?)

Ow!

Uh Oh!

Ma-ma (only when sick or tired so far)

For the record, he also says Da-da. Just not TO his Da-da yet.

*there's A Day For Hearts

Will's 1st Valentine

Thank you for taking time out of your Valentine's Day to celebrate A Day for Hearts with us!

Our heart baby

Here is a reminder about 2 wonderful, no cost ways to do something in honor of congenital heart defects. One is to donate blood. Every 56 days please. Because of winter storms there is a shortage of over 30,000 units right now. Go here to read why this is important for those with congenital heart defects. If you can't donate consider coordinating a local blood drive. Also make sure to sign your organ donor card (or in TN, the back of your driver's license) and tell your family about your wish to be a donor. The current waiting list for organs is over 100,000.

Congenital Heart Defects Awareness Week 2011

*there's his first play in the snow!

 And by "play", I mean sat without moving and stared at it.

Maybe the snow suit was too big or too puffy.

 Will's tiny snowman

Katie tried to show him how to play.

 

He just didn't know what to think. 

*there's several firsts

Today I took a nap after dinner. When I woke up Will had learned to clap! He had been doing something else with his hands for months when we would clap with him. I don't think he realized there was another way to do it until today.

 This month he also learned to drink from a sippy cup
and walk really well behind a push toy.

 

 

This is an example of the pre-cut craziness that had become of his hair.

I love this photo because his cheeks look huge. 

He could store walnuts in there don't you think? 

*there's his first haircut

Before anyone gets angry with me for allowing the curls to be chopped, I promise they are still there! They just look less crazy. When his Daddy started to call him "Little Gene Wilder" I knew we had to do something.

This was an old fashioned barber shop. Can you see the built-in ashtray in the arm of the chair?

Can you spot the tear on his cheek?

If Will could talk he would probably say that his first haircut was awful. Somehow the crying and screaming weren't caught on camera. I think he'll like it more when he's older. The barber was perfect and they had a really neat miniature town and train set in the front window.

"...graduated from babyhood..."

I don't think so.

Will sends a big "thank you!" to his biggest fans for the fun time he had this morning!