Uncle Randy

 

I normally only discuss the fun things happening in our lives but this morning I felt the need to write about my Uncle Randy, Abram's Great-Uncle.  I am overwhelmed right now because we found out he passed away yesterday.  This was very sudden and unexpected.   Writing updates on this blog about Abram has helped me process my feelings of joy and excitement this past year so I feel compelled today to share  some of my sadness about an Uncle that Abram will unfortunately never get to know. 

Uncle Randy is the type of Uncle every child should have.  He took us boating in the summer, I can't count the number of hours he spent on the lake teaching us to ski and driving  around and around and around in circles as we tubed behind the boat.  He would take us to amusement parks and let us eat too much junk food and then get on spinning rides, things that our parents would never let us do.  Since we lived in the same town growing up, he was there for every birthday, Christmas, sports events, etc.  Once I went to college and moved away, it has been harder to get together, especially since Abram was born.  He actually bought me a plane ticket home one summer during college so that I could surprise my family with a visit.  He was the kind of Uncle who would give us Christmas presents and then sneak up to you later and give Josh and I extra money to go out for a nice dinner because he knew we couldn't afford that kind of luxury during college.

Today my heart is sad and a little broken that Abram will never be able to know the Uncle that I did.  I am fortunate that they were able to meet and below I have a picture taken last Father's Day.

 

We love you Uncle Randy!

Recovery

Abram is back home and recovering from his surgery.  Everything went well and so far he hasn't had any complications.  We wanted to thank everyone for your kindness, thoughts and prayers over the past week.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.  I won't go into all the details of recovery and the hospital stay but Abram did much better than I ever expected but I hope we never have to do anything like that again.

Now we've got 3 weeks of wearing arm restraints and eating a soft/blended diet.  

Here's Abram on  his first day home from the hospital.  He doesn't look like a guy who has just been in the hospital for a couple of days.

 

Since he was a scooter instead of a crawler he hasn't had to adjust too much to getting around.  He' still getting around pretty fast.

I couldn't resist adding this picture - we went swimming today and here Abram is waiting for Liz in his little Speedo diaper.

Sometimes it's hard to get around in with your arms restrained.  Abram got a little stuck in his chair.

Whoa - there is a gate in the way.

Nana Comstock came over to give some extra love and attention this weekend.

Keep Abram in Your Thoughts

I don't believe I've mentioned this on the blog before but Abram is having surgery on Tuesday (6/22) to repair a cleft in his soft palate.  I've been trying to not think about this day since December when we found out he had a cleft.  The only sounds he can make right now are vowels and 'm' and 'n' sounds.  He needs the surgery to close the opening in the back of his throat and which will allow him to learn to speak understandably.  It is about a 4 hour procedure and he'll be in the hospital 1-2 nights.  If all goes well he will recuperate at home for about a week and then go back to daycare with extra supervision.  He'll have to wear braces on his arms to keep him from putting anything in his mouth for three weeks. During that same time he'll be on an all liquid diet that he'll have to drink from a cup - no bottles allowed.

We would appreciate any and all thoughts/prayers/good wishes to be sent Abram's way on Tuesday.  His whole life he has been surrounded by love and this day will be no different but a little extra couldn't hurt.

Hopefully I'll be able to post some good news following the surgery. 

On a happier note - we celebrated Father's Day today.  Abram kindly let Josh sleep in until 7:30 before waking him up this morning.  Happy Father's Day Papa!!!

  We also took Josh out for brunch and then we went on our very first family bike ride.  Abram does wear a helmet but we put it on at the last possible second before taking off since he doesn't enjoy it too much.

He wasn't too sure about getting started but had a good time after we got moving.   We had a birthday party this afternoon and Abram is getting to be so big he was trying to grab some food for himself.

He also was trying to be like the big kids and played in the rock pile for a good part of the party. He had way more fun picking up and setting down rocks than I thought would be humanly possible.

Abram is not yet walking on his own but he is faster at scooting than ever.  He actually gets halfway up to standing while mid-scoot.  Josh caught a great picture of Abram today.  Had this been a video - anyone still doubting the theory of evolution would have been converted.  Abram's ape-like movements were commented on by two separate individuals.

Happy Father's Day!

13 Months!

Okay - I have to admit that this picture was taken last week and that I did not get a picture of Abram on today, the 13th month of his life.  Josh refuses to let me wake him up to take a picture now so this is the best you're going to get.  And if you're wondering...yes - that is a huge globule of food on Abram's face.  Once he turned 1 he has developed a fierce independence that usually stands in the way of a washcloth coming anywhere near his face during dinner. 

In other fun news - Abram recently met his new friend Drew.  Drew's parents worked at Lutheran Lakeside with Josh and I and now live in Des Moines.  We are lucky that they have family in Illinois so we get to see them on their way to and from family gatherings.

Approaching carefully.

Yeah!  Drew is my friend.

Soft spot?  What?  Why is everyone so worried about this kid's head?  Let me at him!!!  I have soft spots all over and no one seems too concerned.  My cheeks (both pairs), my tummy, my cute little thighs, the list goes on and on.

I was able to capture one dude picture with no one screaming or trying to tackle one another.  You would think Josh and Donny would behave better in front of their kids :)

Summer Fun

I haven't posted any pictures lately - watching Abram has been all consuming.  He is always on the move and he's just become interested in being read to, which is really fun for everyone.  So by the time he goes to bed we're all exhausted.  

Grandma Comstock came to visit a couple of weeks ago but I realize I didn't get any pictures.  Josh and I headed to K.C. for a wedding and Abram had his first overnight without us.  I think he dealt with it MUCH better than we did.  Thank you grandma for spoiling our little guy.

While grandma was here we went downtown.  We haven't been out much since because Abram's ride got a flat tire we need to get fixed.

He borrowed Rachel's sunglasses while we were out to dinner.  It's his favorite game to take other people's glasses.

So silly!

Abram also has a bad habit of putting his feet on the table. No matter whether we're out to dinner or he's in his highchair at home Abram likes to put his feet on the table.  We're going to have to instill better table manners.

Tonight when I picked Abram up from daycare he was so hot and sticky from playing so hard we decided a run through the sprinklers would be fun.  He was pretty hesitant at first...

 

but it didn't take long for him to realize how much fun he could have.

The water would have been too cold to fill up the pool so we just had the pool empty while the giraffe sprayed out water.

What fun!