Kevin had a blast at his and Emily’s birthday party over the weekend. We had a small get-together, and he gave everyone big hugs and smiles. He also danced like a madman every time he heard any music!
And here is his 2nd birthday video:
We have been busy this week with costumes, pumpkin carving and Halloween parties. Emily decided to be Hermione Granger, from the Harry Potter books. Kevin is a skunk. I decided it was quite appropriate. And true to form, he looks absolutely adorable in it. Kevin got to carve his first pumpkin. We helped him draw the face and then Matt cut it out. Kevin was most interested in throwing the insides of the pumpkins all over the floor. He is so funny in his costume. We went to Matt’s work today for trick or treat and he got lots of comments about about how cute he was. He just stood there and smiled so sweetly, like he knew how cute he looked. Also, Kevin is really into suckers now. He takes a few licks and them sticks them to whatever is nearest to him. I will indulge him for a few days, but after that the suckers will disappear!
Overall, everything is going great, I can’t believe he will be two next week!
On Thursday Kevin tripped over a pillow that had got knocked off of the couch and fell into the coffee table. When I picked him up blood was spurting everywhere. I stayed calm(not sure how I did), took him in the kitchen and tried to see where all the blood was coming from. The cut itself was not all that big, but it was deep - and right between the eyes. Matt came home from work right away and we took him to the ER, where they were able to use Dermabond (which looks and works like glue). We were in and out fairly quickly. Emily has managed to never require more than a band aid, so this was a little traumatic for me. Kev is no worse for the wear, he was back being a dare devil in no time.
Kevin also has the desire to be outside all his waking moments. He points and says outside, if we say no a very nice tantrum occurs. He LOVES to sit in the front seat of the car, I stand right next to him of course, after awhile I get bored… he would stay in there all day I think. He also likes taking walks down the street (aka running away from me) and his little motorized 4 wheeler - he crashes and then waits for me to come rescue him. I look forward to him learning how to steer himself.
In case anyone thinks he is a little angel, I thought I would post this video of a temper tantrum he had this morning. All this rage was caused by Matt just pretending to cry, which made Kevin sad and then mad. He can have quite the temper sometimes…
This past Sunday we went to Iowa City for the Heart Friends picnic. Heart Friends is a support group sponsored by the hospital. We met lots of other parents of kids with heart defects, some more serious than Kevin’s, some less. We talked with Kevin’s Dr.’s — it was nice to talk in a casual setting. Kevin had a great time and ran around like a maniac the entire time. I love seeing the older kids and hearing their stories. They are energetic, happy and healthy. They give me so much hope for the future.
On Monday morning we headed back to Iowa City for a scheduled pacemaker check and EKG. It went fairly well, Kevin had a fit over the EKG stickers. All of his other EKG’s were done while he was still sedated from his echo. We were able to sing Itsy-bitsy spider and get him to sit still long enough for a good reading. His pacemaker is functioning well, he has an estimated 2.5 yrs left on his battery. They did diagnose an arrhythmia from his EKG, it is benign though, so they are just going to watch it. He will have an echo done in January to make sure his heart function is stable. He goes back to Dr. Law in April for another pacemaker check.
Kevin is also doing well with eating. The feeding therapist is only going to come once every three weeks. He has gained almost 4lbs in 6 months and will now eat table food. We are no longer relying on pediasure. When I ask him if he is ready to eat, he throws his head back and screams “EAT” real dramatically. He is eating cantaloupe as I type this 
This morning I was checking my e-mail and not really paying attention to what Kevin was doing. He was busy as usual. He got down a basket of multi-colored Sharpies. Of course, he took the lid off of the orange one and proceeded to add his delightful artwork to the arm of the couch. He came over to me with Sharpie in hand with a weird look on his face. I took his little hand and we walked around to see where the damage was. I just kinda looked at it and laughed, what can you do? I then got my stern mom look on my face and told him no, we do not color of the furniture, especially with Sharpies! I think I got most of it out, we have this cleaner stuff that came with the couch… it gets everything out! I put the Sharpies away, which of course, provoked a lovely tantrum. My sweet Kevin is almost two…. he is a bad seed some days
Kevin got his big boy bed last week and so far so good! He never did like his crib and had never slept through the night in it. He loves his new bed. He likes to play in it and turn the little night lite on and off. He goes to sleep in it without much fuss and is sleeping in it until morning. He still wakes up a few times during the night, but it is so much better than it was.
I was really hoping that cold/flu/asthma season would hold off a little longer. No such luck. Kevin went to the Dr. yesterday after a few sleepless nights and some pretty miserable mornings. He was prescribed steroids and Xopenex. He weighed in at 23lbs, which for him is awesome. At his 18month check he was 20.5, so he is gaining nicely. Other than our respiratory woes, Kevin is doing great. He is a little stinker and keeps me busy.
Lately Kevin has been very into our lawn mower. If he sees it, he points, giggles and takes off after it. He loves to sit on it and pretend he is driving and push all of the buttons. If he is removed from the lawn mower you will see a fit like you have never seen before. It is really quite comical.
This past Friday, Kevin ran the Jr. Bix. He and the other one year olds went seventy yards and got a medal at the end! Kevin had a great time and was very pleased with his medal. In preparation for the run, I bought him some new shoes. He LOVES them. For the first few days he wore them all of the time. He cried when we took them off and they were the first thing he went to when he woke up. Before bed he would take his bath, get jammies on and then the shoes Now the novelty seems to have worn off a bit, but he still gets excited when we put them on.
Summer has been great and Kevin is enjoying every day of it. He loves to be outside and has a great time in the swimming pool. He likes to “jump” in and doesn’t mind going under the water. He is quite the thrill-seeker and isn’t afraid of climbing up on anything he finds. If we take our eyes off him for a minute we often find him climbing on top of a chair or table and giving us a look like “what?” He has a small footstool in front of our front window, which he likes to stand on and look outside all the time. The only problem is he doesn’t like to get down so he stands there whining until one of us lifts him down the small step!
He got to go to Nebraska to visit his uncle James and aunt Amanda and really liked the zoo there. He’s been staying busy and having a blast!
