Dominic's Surgery has been scheduled

We went to the cardiologist last Friday and had a good appointment.  It was a very long appointment because the did an EKG and Echo-Cardiogram again, but everything is maintaining how it should be.  They were very happy with his growth and said one of the reason he is doing so well is because the hole at the bottom of his heart is the smaller one.  Dominic actually has three hole's, two that need to be repaired and one that is so small, they don't think anything will need to be done to it.  The hole in the top chamber is the biggest one, but is not affecting him too badly at this point in time.  The Doctor told us a while ago that if possible they wanted Dominic to be at least 3 months old before surgery and to do it before flu season kicks in.  Some of that was dependent on if Dominic was doing well gaining weight and he is.  He weighed in at 12 lbs. 15 ounces and was 24 inches long.  The Doctor took a lot of time with us and talked us through what to expect as best as possible.  I can not say it enough times, Bronson is a great hospital.  All of the staff has been wonderful, whether it has been with Vince or Dominic.  The surgery is tentatively scheduled for November 27th at Motts Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor.  Being that Dominic's is not an emergency there is always the possibility that it could be postponed for one.  After surgery Dominic will most likely be in the hospital for 7-10 days.  We will all be staying in Ann Arbor during this time.  If the timing really does work out like this, it will be perfect because Dominic's Cardiologist has said he should be out of day care for six weeks and this would fit perfectly into Christmas break for the total 6 weeks, which means less time off from work.  We will continue to keep you all updated, but for now, this is all we know.  We don't have to go back to the Cardiologist until after surgery.  I know that many of you do, but if you would keep our family in your prayers that would be great.

Love,
Nick, Andrea, Vince, and Dominic

   

Up North

We wanted to get up north one more time before winter comes and Dominic has surgery so we went to Torch Lake two weeks ago.  It was a beautiful weekend and we were able to do everything that Vince loves up there.  He was able to throw rocks, go fishing, eat fresh donuts, play outside, see both sets of grandparents, go to Shanty Creek, and his new favorite - drive the boat.  We had to pack a whole summer into one weekend and we did a pretty good job.  Next year we will spend a lot more time up there, but this year it was just to busy.  Dominic also got to meet his Great Grandma Yuldine for the first time.  Both boys did surprisingly well on both car rides as well.   

 When we got there Friday night, Papa had a pile of rocks waiting for him

 Vince is a pretty wild driver, he likes to go fast

 Nick's huge catch of the day!  The worm was almost as big as the fish.

 Vince got to catch a fish too

 Great Grandma Yuldine

Four Generations 

Fall Color Pictures

So this post is just for fun, while we were up north a couple of weeks ago the trees were starting to turn, so I had to take pictures.  I think Nick got a little sick of me declaring how pretty everything was by the end of the weekend!

Stroll N Roll

The stroll n roll was a success this year!  Our team was able to raise $665.00, which was over our goal!  Total the stroll n roll was able to raise just over $18,600 dollars!  That money is going to do great things for people with Spina Bifida.  Like last year we had both sets of grandparents down and uncle Chris.  Last year Vince had to use his walker to walk, but this year he was able to walk independently.  They ended up moving the location this year to a school because the weather forecast was not good and I think that worked out even better.  They had activities inside for the kids to do and then when it was time to walk we all went outside.  It is so amazing to see all of the kids participating, it is truly an inspirational group of people.

Dominic's 2 Month Pictures

There is a big difference between Dominic's one month pictures and two month pictures.  For his two month pictures he was smiling!  I love the toothless grins infants have.  Dominic is a very smiley baby.  He is also growing very fast.  He has continued to gain weight at a good rate and the doctors are very happy with it.  Vince is doing great too, he continues to get better and better at walking.  :)

Putt Putt Golf

Vince loves golf!  He likes to watch it on TV, but he likes to play golf even more!  We took him to the Driving Range once and then we decided to try to putt putt golf.  He really enjoyed it.  We were in Traverse when we did it so both sets of Grandparents got to join us in the fun.

 He is perfecting his swing

 Dominic even got to golf a little