Friday, October 22, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Take Me Out To The Ball Game
Gavin had a wonderful birthday party. At "Gavin Field", there was a concession stand full of yummy baseball treats & refreshments, a score board & a field to play ball with his best friends. Young & old enjoyed the party & Gavin scored lots of fun gifts! Now on to Brody's first birthday on FRIDAY!!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Happy 4th Birthday, Gavin!
Four years ago @ 2:00pm, Gavin Parker Kuykendall was born into this world to make a difference. It amazes me how strong this little guy is, it amazes me how much he's been through in his little life, but most of all it amazes me all the lives he has touched. God is so good!! We love you buddy, Happy Birthday!!!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Where should I start?
I think its well past time for an update. That is if anyone still reads my blog? And why would you? It's had the same post for the past 6 months. Well lets get to it... Brody turned 7 months, then 8, 9 & 10, which brings us to today- 11 months! So we are way behind, poor second child. I wouldn't miss a month with Gavin but sorry Brody, it happened. Brody recently had tubes put in his ears, he did fabulous! He will have a cardiologist appointment in December, if all goes well he will not have to see a cardiologist again! Brody at 11 months: *You are crawling all over the place, getting into everything! You like to cruise around the couch & occasionally let go to stand for a moment. But for the most part you have no interest in walking, you like to be held! *You love to eat, I could list your likes/dislikes, however you like all foods! *You love your brother, love to wrestle with him, kiss him, & hug him.*Favorite words: dada, bubba, baby, dog, ruff-ruff, mooo.*You like to wave bye-bye, blow kisses & hold up the number one when asked "how old are you?"*You are still a mamas boy, but have made strides in letting others hold you, stay with you. Brody you are such a sweet lil' addition to our family, I can't believe you will be ONE in just four short weeks! We love you! Lets move on to Mr. Gavin...We have been in & out of the hospital more times than I can count with Gavin. He had a circumcision in May, it went great! Recently he's had some brady cardia issues that put him in the hospital followed by an appointment in OKC. Dr. O prescribed a 30-day event heart monitor. Gavin did well with it, it showed a few episodes of brady cardia but his rhythms looked good. He was in the hospital a few weeks ago for a 103 fever, had us admitted in OKC to watch for infection in heart, fortunately that wasn't the case. Then he had a seizure an hour after we were discharged. Recently he had his tonsils & adenoids taken out in the city because they discovered during the first hospital stay that he has obstructive sleep apnea. After about 2 weeks of recovery, he is back to himself. All of the hospital visits, surgeries have delayed school. He will start the first of October & he is very excited about it! Even through all the difficulties, Gavin continues to push on & show his feisty spirit. We celebrated Independence day in Florida this year, we always enjoy getting to go & spend time with family. This year our very dear friends, the Lawrence's were able to join us. Having little babies with us, meant no returning with the usual tan. But we still had a great time. The summer has been a wonderful one, I got to finish it off with a trip to NYC! Adam had a business trip in NJ, so my mom, grandmother & myself tagged along for a fun girls trip in the city. It didn't disappoint! It is one of those places that is fun to visit, but I was definitely ready to come home when it was over. Well lets get to the cuteness... Here are some pictures from the last he-hm several months..jpg)
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Thursday, April 22, 2010
Celebrate!
Today was a day of celebration...
Brody is 6 months old (post to follow tomorrow with stats/pics)
and....
Exactly one year ago today, we handed Gavin over for his third open heart surgery, the Fontan. Here is a video montage I put together of our trip & Gavin's surgery. Happy HEART Day Gavin, we are so proud of how far you've come. God has blessed you in so many ways, we love you!
Brody is 6 months old (post to follow tomorrow with stats/pics)
and....
Exactly one year ago today, we handed Gavin over for his third open heart surgery, the Fontan. Here is a video montage I put together of our trip & Gavin's surgery. Happy HEART Day Gavin, we are so proud of how far you've come. God has blessed you in so many ways, we love you!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Our latest happenings...
So I have come to the conclusion that I am horrible at staying on top of this blogging! It's hard enough to remember to take pictures of the boys every day! Here's a run down of our latest happenings...
On March 22nd Brody turned 5 months! He is currently trying out the baby food such as cereal, fruits and veggies. To say he loves it is an understatement. He would eat all day if we let him! He is about to pop out of his 6-12 month clothing! Brody rolls from back to tummy, tummy to back, scoots across the floor on his belly. He loves attention, toys, people talking and looking/reading books. Brody sleeps through the night and overall a very pleasant baby!
During spring break, we decided to venture out to the zoo because the weather was fabulous. Uh, crazy idea to say the least. IT WAS PACKED!!! On top of that I braved it and took my friends baby (that is 2 months younger than Brody) along with us. To my surprise, all three boys were well behaved and we had a great time!
Gavin had his post-cath cardio appointment in the city at the beginning of March. Dr. O said overall his heart and lung function are "OK", he decided to increase one of his meds... bummer, we thought he was going to take him off! Gavin enjoyed putting stickers all over his arm as he waited for Dr. O.
During spring break, we decided to venture out to the zoo because the weather was fabulous. Uh, crazy idea to say the least. IT WAS PACKED!!! On top of that I braved it and took my friends baby (that is 2 months younger than Brody) along with us. To my surprise, all three boys were well behaved and we had a great time!
These two are BFF, they are exactly
one month a part which is great
because moms are BFF too! ;)
Lincoln (6mos) & Brody (5mos)
My other BFF's baby and Brodys BFF too...Logan (3mos) & Brody
Gavin is loving school now and his teachers/director are the best! The director contacted me a few weeks ago about doing a fundraiser for the American Heart Association in honor of Gavin. I was touched by her kindness and couldn't believe it when she told me her idea. So tomorrow night his school is putting on a Parents Night Out. The kids get to enjoy a fun night at school and Safari Joe, with some wild life, will be there to entertain the kids! All donations will go to AHA! Most of the teachers and their families decided to walk in the heart walk with us, so the kids created a bulletin board with their footprints and names. It seriously brought tears to my eyes when I looked at the board. It says "Walking for Gavin". So to all the PALS teachers and Ms. Kelli, thank you so much for loving my son and supporting a great cause. We love you all!
Thursday, March 04, 2010
2010 Heart Walks!
Dear Family and Friends:
That's right, it's that time of year again! We are gearing up for TWO Heart Walks this year! We are participating in the Oklahoma City Heart Walk and the Tulsa Heart Walk. Let us fill you in on why we decided to attend both.
2009 was a year full of many up’s and down’s. We started off the year with shocking but exciting news; we were expecting baby #2!
As most of you know, our first son Gavin was born in October of 2006 with a very rare congenital heart defect, Hypo plastic Left Heart Syndrome and other heart defects. HLHS is one of the most complex cardiac defects seen in the newborn. In a child with HLHS all of the structures on the left side of the heart (the side which receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and pumps it out to the body) are severely underdeveloped. Treatment involves 're-plumbing' the heart to allow the right side to do the work normally done by the left. Therefore, Gavin only has one ventricle, the right, and it does all the work. This treatment is done through a series of three surgeries. There is no long-term prognosis for the series of surgeries since the oldest children who have undergone them are only in their early twenties. Some children with HLHS eventually will require a heart transplant.
In April of 09’ Gavin had his third repair, the Fontan (open-heart surgery that allows "blue" blood to flow passively to the lungs, and the single ventricle pumps "red" blood to the body). We went to San Diego to follow Dr. Peter Pastuszko, the wonderful surgeon that operated on Gavin during his first two repairs. Gavin did remarkably well right after surgery but regressed within 48 hours. After much needed time to heal and get better, Gavin was on a plane to head back home. Gavin has been through so much in his three years of life, heart caths, suffered a minor stroke, seizures, CT's, MRI, EEGS, weekly doctor appointments, physical therapy, speech therapy, home health care and more. He continues to amaze us with his energy and sweet spirit. This little boy is an ABSOLUTE MIRACLE and we are blessed with his smile everyday!
Shortly after arriving home we found out we were expecting another boy! We were ecstatic that Gavin would have a little brother! Faith’s OB referred us back to the Pediatric Cardiologist, Dr. Alice Kleiwer to get a fetal echo cardiogram. Since Gavin has such a complex heart condition they wanted to get as much information about Baby Boy #2's heart to prepare for his birth. After the echo, which lasted more than an hour, we met with Dr. Kleiwer. She informed us that our un-born baby had 2 heart defects. ASD, (the wall between the two entry chambers of the heart (the atria) does not finish forming) and VSD (which is the most common type of congenital heart disease. In the case of VSD, the wall between the two largest chambers of the heart (the ventricles) does not finish forming). To be honest, we were devastated, angry, and confused. After a very eventful pregnancy, Brody Lane was born into the world on October 22, 2009. Weighing in at a whopping 8lbs 9ounces and a screaming cry that was music to our ears! Immediately after birth an echo was performed and Brody’s “holes” already looked smaller than in the womb. We were thrilled and elated to bring our newest son home. One month later Brody’s heart was checked again and it appears that the holes are closing on their own. Dr. Kleiwer doesn’t want to see Brody again until he is the age of one! We are so happy for Brody’s health and the joy he has brought to our life.
Because of the American Heart Association, Dr. Peter Pastuszko, OKC Cardiology Team, medical staff at The Children’s Hospital in OKC/ Rady’s Children’s in San Diego, Pediatric Cardiology of Tulsa, Gavin and Brody is able to receive the best of care!
We are supporting both the Tulsa and OKC heart walks as our way of saying thanks for all the hard work that the AHA and doctors do in order to save the lives of many others just like Gavin! This is our third year to participate in the OKC Heart Walk. There are lots of other children with Congenital Heart Defects, the NUMBER ONE birth defect! So please help us in making awareness not only about HLHS but Heart Defects in general. We are creating a team of walkers to help us reach a goal for the American Heart Association Walk. We know that not everyone will be able to participate with us but we wanted to invite you to visit our web page by clicking either of the links below. If you would like you can make a donation in honor of Gavin and or Brody on their personal web page. Please do not feel obligated---we truly just wanted to share our project, which we are doing in honor of Gavin and Brody with you. We plan to put our 'hearts' into this yearly. Any amount would be greatly appreciated. Thank you to all of our 'heart' supporters out there! We love all of you and God Bless.
Adam, Faith, Gavin & Brody
If you are interested, send me an email and I will pass along the information! afgk03@gmail.com
That's right, it's that time of year again! We are gearing up for TWO Heart Walks this year! We are participating in the Oklahoma City Heart Walk and the Tulsa Heart Walk. Let us fill you in on why we decided to attend both.
2009 was a year full of many up’s and down’s. We started off the year with shocking but exciting news; we were expecting baby #2!
As most of you know, our first son Gavin was born in October of 2006 with a very rare congenital heart defect, Hypo plastic Left Heart Syndrome and other heart defects. HLHS is one of the most complex cardiac defects seen in the newborn. In a child with HLHS all of the structures on the left side of the heart (the side which receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and pumps it out to the body) are severely underdeveloped. Treatment involves 're-plumbing' the heart to allow the right side to do the work normally done by the left. Therefore, Gavin only has one ventricle, the right, and it does all the work. This treatment is done through a series of three surgeries. There is no long-term prognosis for the series of surgeries since the oldest children who have undergone them are only in their early twenties. Some children with HLHS eventually will require a heart transplant.
In April of 09’ Gavin had his third repair, the Fontan (open-heart surgery that allows "blue" blood to flow passively to the lungs, and the single ventricle pumps "red" blood to the body). We went to San Diego to follow Dr. Peter Pastuszko, the wonderful surgeon that operated on Gavin during his first two repairs. Gavin did remarkably well right after surgery but regressed within 48 hours. After much needed time to heal and get better, Gavin was on a plane to head back home. Gavin has been through so much in his three years of life, heart caths, suffered a minor stroke, seizures, CT's, MRI, EEGS, weekly doctor appointments, physical therapy, speech therapy, home health care and more. He continues to amaze us with his energy and sweet spirit. This little boy is an ABSOLUTE MIRACLE and we are blessed with his smile everyday!
Shortly after arriving home we found out we were expecting another boy! We were ecstatic that Gavin would have a little brother! Faith’s OB referred us back to the Pediatric Cardiologist, Dr. Alice Kleiwer to get a fetal echo cardiogram. Since Gavin has such a complex heart condition they wanted to get as much information about Baby Boy #2's heart to prepare for his birth. After the echo, which lasted more than an hour, we met with Dr. Kleiwer. She informed us that our un-born baby had 2 heart defects. ASD, (the wall between the two entry chambers of the heart (the atria) does not finish forming) and VSD (which is the most common type of congenital heart disease. In the case of VSD, the wall between the two largest chambers of the heart (the ventricles) does not finish forming). To be honest, we were devastated, angry, and confused. After a very eventful pregnancy, Brody Lane was born into the world on October 22, 2009. Weighing in at a whopping 8lbs 9ounces and a screaming cry that was music to our ears! Immediately after birth an echo was performed and Brody’s “holes” already looked smaller than in the womb. We were thrilled and elated to bring our newest son home. One month later Brody’s heart was checked again and it appears that the holes are closing on their own. Dr. Kleiwer doesn’t want to see Brody again until he is the age of one! We are so happy for Brody’s health and the joy he has brought to our life.
Because of the American Heart Association, Dr. Peter Pastuszko, OKC Cardiology Team, medical staff at The Children’s Hospital in OKC/ Rady’s Children’s in San Diego, Pediatric Cardiology of Tulsa, Gavin and Brody is able to receive the best of care!
We are supporting both the Tulsa and OKC heart walks as our way of saying thanks for all the hard work that the AHA and doctors do in order to save the lives of many others just like Gavin! This is our third year to participate in the OKC Heart Walk. There are lots of other children with Congenital Heart Defects, the NUMBER ONE birth defect! So please help us in making awareness not only about HLHS but Heart Defects in general. We are creating a team of walkers to help us reach a goal for the American Heart Association Walk. We know that not everyone will be able to participate with us but we wanted to invite you to visit our web page by clicking either of the links below. If you would like you can make a donation in honor of Gavin and or Brody on their personal web page. Please do not feel obligated---we truly just wanted to share our project, which we are doing in honor of Gavin and Brody with you. We plan to put our 'hearts' into this yearly. Any amount would be greatly appreciated. Thank you to all of our 'heart' supporters out there! We love all of you and God Bless.
Adam, Faith, Gavin & Brody
If you are interested, send me an email and I will pass along the information! afgk03@gmail.com
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Brody is 4 months!
Chubby Wubby!
Mr. Frown
Brother didn't want to be left out of the photo shoot...
I think someone is needing more attention?!? ;)
Brody can...roll over (from back to tummy)
laugh out loud, smile, coo
push up on your hands and rock back and fourth, always trying to get somewhere!
Brody likes...
to be talked to
to be held
his brother and the entertainment he provides
his momma!
Brody's dislikes...
to nap
to be put down
to be by yourself!
Brody you bring new joy to our life every day, we can't believe you are 4 months today... you are getting to big to fast!!! We love you!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Petey Bear
Tonight Adam put Gavin to bed... about 5 minutes later Gavin came running out to the living room, threw his "Petey Bear" (named after Dr. P, Gavin's heart surgeon) on the floor and said "I don't like you Petey Bear!" then went back to his room. Adam took Petey Bear back to the room and told Gavin that wasn't very nice and how Petey Bear was right beside him during his last surgery and sleeps with him every night. Gavin leaned over grabbed Petey Bear, kissed him and said "I am so sorry, I love you Petey Bear" and fell asleep!
Friday, February 05, 2010
Happy Heart Day Gavin!
Having a very rough day!
February 16, 2007... back in his bed, finally HOME SWEET HOME!!!
Three years ago today, we handed our baby boy over to Dr. P for the second time. Gavin had his 2nd open heart surgery at 3 months old. Every anniversary of Gavin's "Heart Day" we take him to celebrate somewhere special. He wanted to go to Incredible Pizza tonight, so that is exactly what we will do.Gavin,
Mommy and Daddy are so proud of the little man you are today. We are amazed by your
strength and how far you have come since February 5, 2007. We love you Gavin and can't wait to see what God has in store for your future!
xoxo!
P.S. Today is NATIONAL WEAR RED DAY!!! Wear RED and support the fight against heart disease!
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