Dear Noah......you are enjoying summer so far!

I have not yet made time to make up a school schedule of events this summer.....but you are not unhappy about that. So far your days have been filled up with swimming and computer games, playing with me and going places. AND more swimming. You unfortunately got sunburned on your back Monday at the pool.....so you are going to be spending most of your time indoors the next couple of days. BUT otherwise you are having a good summer I think.

Saturday we spent time at Uncle Sonny's wonderfully magical place...as he invited us along with other relatives out to his house for a cookout and paddle boating. Everyone had such a wonderful time and the weather was gorgeous!

Monday cousin Audrey came over to spend the day and went swimming with you. You have also been swimming here and at Aunt Angela's big pool at her new apartment. You love the water though in one video clip I will post another time you did panic as you were drifting to the deeper end of the pool.

All in all I think and hope and pray your summer will be filled with many magical moments and memories you will treasure a lifetime!

I love you!

Mommy
XOXOX

Dear Noah.....your cardiology followup.....

Was Monday afternoon at Children's Medical Center. Your bicuspid aortic valve is about the same and the stenosis there is about the same; however, the leaking (aortic insufficiency) has worsened a bit. So the cardiologist is more worried about that right now than the stenosis or aortic valve itself.

You are going to have to go back in 6 months for another echocardiogram to see if it has worsened again or stayed the same. We will then go from there. I won't get into a lot of details now about things but you may face open heart surgery one day unless they can come up with a new way to do a couple of the surgeries you might one day have to have done. If it has worsened in 6 months we will start checking into options....and it sounds like they would try you on some medication first. BUT I would have to really do some research even on that....the long-term side effects...etc...before ever agreeing to something they could probably just go ahead and fix and get it over with. Time will tell. You did well but cried throughout the echo as you had a sore chest and stomach from swimming at your Aunt Angela's house Saturday night. You apparently fell on the concrete and hit your chest and stomach. Here I thought you had hit your knee.

We have been pretty busy so far this summer. I have not yet even had time to come up with a schedule for school work and field trips for summer and as fast as the months are going by I better get to it or summer will be all over before we know it!

We went to your Aunt Angela's to swim Saturday night and to see her new apartment. We had a really nice time there.



We have stopped over to see grandma C. We stopped in to see Audrey and Grandma and Grandpa L. on Monday on the way home from your cardiology appointment. Then while at Grandma C's house we got a call to come to the hospital as my aunt was there in really bad shape (she has cancer in her lung, spine and brain and now pneumonia and other infections). So we took grandma C. to the hospital and called some other family members to be there too. You did very well..being very quiet as she was in the ICU. You did entertain yourself a couple of times by going into the bathroom off the side of the ICU Waiting Area to flush the men's toilet. So there we all sat talking and every so often we could hear a "SWOOSH!"

You were exhausted by the time we left which was almost 2:45 a.m.!

We saw a gorgeous moon on the way home so we pulled off to snap a few.....



Yesterday we stayed home and rested up a bit...same today. I will have to mow soon. We will need to water the vegetables tonight and give the animals fresh water and seed.

I love you Noah.....As usual you have made some very amazing comments over the past few days and because I got behind and did not record them right away or jot them down I hope I can recall them to post here soon.

Meanwhile...I love you a lot.

Mommy
XOXOXO

OH! YOUR SCHOOL progress reports and tests! You are doing amazingly well. I will post your scores later...but you took the test for 4th grade and were in the ADVANCED level on Math and Reading...so I am less worried or wondering how you are doing now!

Oh The Places You'll Go! by Dr. Suess (read by John Lithgow) appropriate for us all to read!

Dear Noah.......you have been pretty sweet the last few days.....

I have not felt 100% and you keep giving me hugs and kisses....saying you hope I feel better soon.

The other night all you did at bedtime was come up to me and say "KNEECAPS".....and that was my hint you wanted to have a sleepover as your knees were hurting you really badly again. I thought it was cute you only saying "Mom....KNEECAPS!"

Yesterday after giving you a bath and you getting dressed...I talked about how you are old enough to remember to do many of these things all on your own without me prompting you each and every day....each time they need done.

You came out to the office and told me "Mom, I have 2 things to say. First I just brushed my hair for the first time in years!" which I about busted out laughing. Just the way you said it....so matter-of-fact....and it is so true! IT HAS been YEARS since you brushed your hair. Your hair though is normally short enough it does not require brushing.

You said you just wanted to see what it FELT like.

I forget now what the second revelation was.

Today is more rest for me. I feel very lazy when I do nothing for the entire weekend.

I love you very much Noah! We missed going to a family reunion on Sunday because I still did not feel well...but when I asked you what you would miss about it the most....you said checking out the bathrooms and swinging. SO I told you I can take you to the park where the reunion was held anytime to do those 2 things. You then added of course to play with Audrey or Wesley if they were at the reunion...which I found out they were. You also wanted to go to uncle Sonny's again soon.

Love you but I am going to lay back down for now....

Mommy
XOXOXOXO

Check this out.......I can see so many ways this could be used to help autistic kids learn social skills too!

The technology being developed in the video world today is amazing. Check out this video clip of technology already available.....and think of the LIMITLESS possibilities this means in the virtual world of interaction!