Michael Phelps??

Well maybe not.....Yet.... Today Colin had his 2nd pool therapy class. He made us so proud as he works so hard and never complains. Nothing ever comes easy to him, (except yelling) but he has more determination then Mel and I will ever have.... Here are the photo's from poolside.....

Colin is just letting everyone know who's boss....He likes to intimidate before he gets in the pool....

Colin looks like he is sucking up to his teacher....He got excited when it was his turn...

It appears that Colin is romancing his teacher......He has all the ladies eating out of his hands.... (actually she is stretching is legs)

Standing in the Pool.......

Colin on all fours on a mat.....Lift that head buddy!!!

Here is a little video to finish off the post......Stay tuned for next week he will learn knee dives and flip turns......

Good Week

Sorry for the lack of updates but, it's not because Colin hasn't been happy. In fact, it's just the opposite!! Colin has given more smiles in the past week than he has in his entire life!! All day long Mommy gets smiles. I always adored my serious Colin but, happy Colin is so much fun!!

Colin started Pool Therapy last week and he did fantastic! We are so proud of him. He was in a new place with a new therapist and the pool was huge!! I stayed by the pool the whole time but, he barely looked at me and he had so much fun. I am amazed at how fearless he is (of course he did go through 3 heart surgeries so a pool is a walk in the park).

Colin has been on a 22 hour feed for the past week and so far so good. It's been nice to take him places without the food backpack. His mysterious temps are getting better-we haven't hit 102 in a week!! Colin is sleeping great again too.

This weekend is Colin's 2nd birthday and a huge milestone. This past year has been extremely difficult for Colin and we are so happy that we are able to celebrate another birthday. Colin is getting a Wiggles cake!!

Another huge event for Colin is coming up in a few weeks. He will be the ringbearer in Uncle Alex and Aunt Jamee's wedding. He tried on his tux jacket this weekend and it fit perfectly (except for the arms!!) It's a 2T and I was nervous that it would be too big but, he looked so handsome. Colin also proved that he's sneakier than we all think this weekend. Uncle Al and Aunt Jamee babysat Colin for a few hours and he managed to get away without taking a nap!! When they put him down he threw up a little and then smiled-well he got picked up after that!! He has them wrapped around his finger!!

On a sad note, Colin's favorite sports talk duo, Mike and the Mad Dog broke up after 19 years, so he can no longer watch them on YES. The picture below is an old photo of Colin watching his buddies........

Colin Has An Announcement !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok....So Colin has been holding a secret over the past 16 weeks....as you know with his poker face it is really easy to do....but now he is ready to share the secret with all of our friends.......

Colin is holding ultrasound pictures..................

Of his baby..................

Brother..........YAY.....

Yes...there will be another scream in the house at 2 a.m. Melanie is due Feb 2nd so....hopefully it won't look like this on the way to the hospital.....

PS - Mel and baby are doing very well....
PSS - The level 2 ultrasound showed that the baby has a 4 chambered heart and a pulmonary artery....a more detailed Fetal Echo is scheduled in 1 month.

Almost Over

Vacation is almost over......I have been having fun in the pool and playing. I really haven't napped too well but I go to bed early for Mommy and Daddy. Here are two photos showing some of the fun I have had......

Eating a marshmallow....

Showing my teeth....

A week in CT.....

On Friday, we traveled down to CT to see Nanna and Grandpa and all my cousins for the week. Grandpa had a surprise 60th B-day party for Nanna (well sort of a surprise) on Saturday and all my family was there, second cousins and even Papa and Grandma came from Syracuse.....Here are some of the photos.....

Nanna

Family Photo with Nanna, Grandpa, Aunts & Uncles and Cousins

Me and my CT Cousins....

Grandpa and Papa discussing the specifics of my new pool at home.......

The party really got going so I decided to have a few brewski's.....

Turns out I am a lightweight.....

Boy...The next morning I had a rocking headache and needed to sport my cousin Russell's aviators....

I then thought it would be a good idea to just chill in the pool on a raft and work it off....

Finally Relaxing

PS- Just for the record and so nobody calls DCF on my parents, there was no beer in the bottle, I did not have a sip, and Daddy was right next to the raft in the pool to protect me from drowning......The material on this blog is just for humor and to torment me when I bring home my first girlfriend when I am older.......

PSS - We are going to show some more family members more often as they are me and my parents true support system. Look for it in the coming weeks and months ahead.....

Candy Candy Candy.....

Colin loves the Andes...no not the mountains...the candy.... Check it out...

This is the first thing he has eaten in sometime without gagging or throwing up.....Actually he hasn't allowed much into his mouth other than liquids.... What is funny is that we actually have been feeding him pedialyte all day because he had a temperature and now he actually wants to eat.....Interesting....Maybe there is hope if we cut down the hours he is fed by pump that he will eat real food.....

Happy Days Are Back..........For Now......

Colin is back in a good mood...for a few days at least so we decided to post some pictures again....Sorry to all who check it everyday....we promise to post more often......

Isn't he getting so big?? He's up to 25# and 30 1/2" long!! Colin has gained 7 lbs and 3 1/2 inches in length since we've been home from Boston!! Now we were told (again) at our Friday office visit that Colin's echo is still unchanged and his heart doesn't look any better. But, all Tim and I heard was blah, blah, blah because Colin has never looked better to us than he has the past couple of weeks. So many positive things are happening for Colin:

1) He's growing like crazy.

2) He loves his therapy and is gaining strength and endurance every session.

3) He is so interested in all of his toys and will play and play all day.

4) He is on less diuretics than he has been on in a year.

5) He is getting the most calories that he has ever gotten in his life (and tolerating this).

6) He is throwing up a lot less (about 2x/day) and most of the time he gags himself.

7) He is able to tolerate being on his stomach.

8) He is starting to babble a lot-sometimes too much at 2 am!!

So, Tim and I are really encouraged by all of Colin's progress. We know that he is getting better. We can just tell by everything that he is doing. Plus, we have to keep reminding each other what we were told by Boston before we left....it is going to take a LONG time for Colin's heart to show improvement. Dr. Freed stressed that we needed to have a LOT of patience.

Enjoy the pictures and the video!!

Look at me standing!!

Look I'm starting to move!! (wait for the little smile at the end....wait for it....wait for it...)