Spring is coming!

The past week has been pretty good for our little Brian.  We've ventured out of the house three whole times, and only one of them was for a doctors appointment! 

Here he is at the cardiologist last week.  He weighed in at a hefty 13 lbs!  Look at those chub rolls.  I just love them.  We had to see a heart doctor because of his ECHO results last week.  We found out that our little man has slightly elevated right ventricular pressure.  So, the chamber of his heart that pumps the blood into the lungs is working a little harder than it would on a normal baby.  She said that this is fine and expected for a baby with Chronic Lung Disease.  We will do another follow up ECHO in about six months when he is (hopefully) off his oxygen for good.  All of these things - the oxygen, feeding issues, elevated heart pressures - are things that are expected to heal with time.  We need to be patient and wait, encourage good nutrition and keep him healthy.  But man, being patient is getting hard!  

Our baby getting some snuggles... and Carl brewing beer in the background.  Nut Brown Ale coming soon.  Yummy! 

He fell asleep during bath time  :) 

And our big boy is starting to smile!!  It has just really started in the last week or so, just a few times a day.  My mom was trying so hard to get him to smile when she was here, but of course he had to wait just two days til after she left to break one out.  It is so cute and fun.  Baby smiles are the best! And very hard to get pictures of.  

  

Sometimes he gets hot and just needs to chill out in a onesie.  Or a diaper. 

Hi baby. 

It's finally warm enough for some walks outside!  We just pack up his monitor and oxygen tank and off we go.  It felt SOO nice to get out of the house.  Brian and I even went by ourselves today.  He's the best little walking partner.  

Carl takes a picture a day of our little man.  It's fun to see how much he changes!  And he uses our fancy camera.  I tend to just stick to my phone.  

He LOVED this book.  I think the red truck really caught his eye! 

Carl bought these baby Air Jordans when he was in high school, I think.  He insisted on trying them on our guy, just to check and see if they fit.  :)  I think it's going to be a little while yet!  I know Christmas jammies are out of style now, but I needed to do some laundry...

Sweet boy. 

This guy is going to need lots of sunscreen. 

Love you buddy!!  We have another well visit doctors appointment tomorrow.  We have a weight check and get his six month immunizations.  Here's hoping the doctor has all good things to say!