Snow Day and Prayers for Zachy

It's a snow day, and the boys are excited to be out of school!  I'm not that excited.  It's not that I don't love spending quality time with them; it's just that being cooped up all day in the house with five boys and one mommy is not exactly quality time.  Steve made it to work, and we could have made it to school, but oh well... Later today we'll bundle up and go outside for some snow fun!  (David couldn't wait):

It's time for a few overdue pictures. Just two days ago the weather was perfect, and we were outside playing without coats!  The wind had blown several tumbleweeds from the field behind our house onto our front porch, and Joseph and Sammy made a fortress out of them!

Zachy loves playing outside and showing you he's "ONE"!

Sammy was just too cozy to stay awake...

So much brother love!

  

I told you about these boys' appetites!

  

Zachy is really getting "into" the new riding/walking toy Grandma and Papa got him for his birthday.

  

Does someone need a haircut?

Here are just a couple videos of Zachy playing with his lion.  In the first, he gets on backwards (when he did this earlier today, he toppled off the back of it, head over heels!) 

Zachy is really getting around these days and resembling a toddler much more than a baby. He gets right into all the games (and mischief) that his older brothers play, and before we know it, he will be running circles around them. If we're downstairs, we have to gate the stairway or Zachary will climb the stairs before we even notice! Thank you, God, for allowing him to grow and develop just like a normal baby.

We are still reminded, though, that he has a special condition. Already we plunked down our $3,400 for his January Synagis (RSV vaccine,) and he received another two injections just the other day. It is heartbreaking to watch him cry and hold him down when the home visiting nurse preps the syringes and swabs his little thighs. Between shots, I watch him in agony and plead for him to take a breath as he turns purple and blue. So far, we have been lucky, and he has never passed out during a tantrum.

Next Monday, we return to his cardiologist for his first check-up since October. There is no reason for us to believe that he is having problems, but still we ask prayers for a good report. We expect it will also be decided at that time when he will return to Ann Arbor for his Fontan (third and final stage surgery.) It is so hard to imagine putting him through this again, especially when he seems so healthy right now. But we need to keep reminding ourselves that the surgery is preventative and necessary if we are to keep him healthy.

Wishing you all a fun-filled weekend!