First Word!!!

Gwyneth said her first word last night! We're so excited! She's been babbling a lot lately, but we're pretty certain this is the first time she has said a real word and understood it's meaning at the same time...

Some of you may know that we're teaching Gwyneth to call me "Papa", simply because I think it's cute and we like to do things other than the norm. Gwyneth's speech therapist warned us that "p" is often more difficult for babies to pronounce, so we should expect her to learn other words first...

Well, Tricia was driving home last night, and told Gwyneth, "We're going home to see Papa"...sure enough, Tricia says that Gwyneth said "Papa" with a pronounced "P" a few times. I heard it myself a few times when they arrived home, and we tried to get it on video (via my cell phone)...she got so close to saying it again a few times, but around 29 seconds on the video below, you can clearly hear her whisper it...

It's been amazing to watch the light bulb turn on over the past month...she has done so many new things in just the past few weeks. What a fun age!

Nate

Eye Update

Gwyneth had another appointment with her eye doctor last week. Although the surgery in early March made an immediate difference, her right eye has reverted over the past few months to crossing and dipping again (it's more noticeable when she's focusing on something close to her face), nearly as bad as it was before. And, although we can tell that it is not affecting her vision nearly as much as it was before the surgery, it is still an issue that is slowing her ability to develop and communicate.

The pics below show what I'm talking about...although you may not be able to tell...I can see it most of the time, but Tricia does not see it so much.




We'll continue to patch her left eye a bit each week over the next few months and hope that it will fix itself, but we might be looking at another surgery in early fall. But, regardless, Gwyneth is as happy and energetic as ever, and we certainly don't feel like we have anything to complain about!

Nate

Peek-A-Boo

One of Gwyneth's new things is crawling on the couches...she loves to look for Meka and peek over the edge at her...

Nate

White Rose Blooming (18 Months)

This is a little late, but well worth it!

You are now 27 inches long, and you weigh over 18lbs!

Your past 6 months have been so much fun! You are turning into a mobile, chatty toddler so quickly! Just in the past few weeks you've gone from rolling around on the floor to sitting up on your own, crawling on all fours, and pulling yourself up to a stand. You love to explore the house, see what's going on outside, and follow us from room to room. You've also become even more vocal, "ba-ba-ing" constantly, and you continue to love "reading" books, perfecting the skill of turning the pages.

You are eating nearly everything we give you, although you've become very independent and prefer to hold your own bottle and feed yourself with sticky fingers. You love fruit and any kind of cracker, especially. You've also started to use a sippy cup, and you love to munch food with all of your eight front teeth and a few molars. And, you are down to just one daily medicine!

You've graduated from your first swimming lessons and love to be in the water, especially the bathtub and the pool. You've learned to tolerate the sand at the beach and would crawl right into the ocean if we let you. Your hair is bleach blond from so much time in the sun, but your skin stays fair thanks to lots of sun screen.

You are learning to play and explore with your little friends, like Evaine, LK and baby Nathan, and you have been spending lots of time with your grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We take lots of walks together around the neighborhood with Meka and Ralphie, and spend lots of evenings at home playing together.

In the next 6 months, we are looking forward to introducing you to more new people and little friends. We are going to spend as much time out in the sun and in the water as possible until it gets too cold!

We love you!


Compare our Blessed White Rose at:

2 Weeks
3 Weeks
4 Weeks
5 Weeks
6 Weeks
7 Weeks
8 Weeks
9 Weeks
10 Weeks
11 Weeks
12 Weeks
13 Weeks
14 Weeks
15 Weeks
16 Weeks
17 Weeks
6 Months
8 Months
12 Months

Bad Hair Day

Nate

Little Mermaid

Now that I got your attention, please read on to my post below...

Nate

Pray for Stellan

He's really bad off...thanks for your prayers for our friends.

Nate

Just Another Day At The Beach

Tricia's been spending a girlie weekend in NJ with her mom and sisters and nieces...they made a trip to NYC yesterday to see a Broadway production. So, it's just been me and Gwyneth since Friday morning...we've spent lots of time at the pool and on the beach...
















I'm very thankful for the outdoor showers at the beach accesses here...

Nate

An Exciting Announcment!

I'm very excited to announce that I am currently putting together a schedule for speaking engagements for the remainder of 2009. As you know, one of the purposes of this blog has always been to both share our story and help others going through similar experiences AND help educate the general public about Cystic Fibrosis, Organ Donation & Transplantation, Lymphoma and Premature Birth. With the unexpected popularity of the blog, we have seen how God has allowed our story to reach so many and have been invited several times to share our story with different groups of people. Tricia's and Gwyneth's health, however, have kept us from accepting many of these invitations until now.

We are going to keep our speaking engagement schedule limited as we give it our first go through the remainder of this year...again, this is not an attempt at fame or fortune, but an opportunity we feel we can make the most of in using the gifts that God has given us to bless others. I do not have any expectations of a great response to this, nor do we have any unrealistic visions (or desires) of traveling the world, so we'll just see what comes of it!

If you or somebody you know is interested in contacting us about a speaking engagement, please visit ConfessionsOfACFHusband.com and click the "Appearances" tab for more information.

Thanks!

Nate

(Bump) Take Me Out To The Ballgame!

Come out to the Outer Banks Daredevils baseball game tonight at 7 and listen to me sing our national anthem...

Nate

Outer Banks Bear Factory

Tricia, Gwyneth and I (and the cousins) had a fun experience a few days ago shooting a video promo for our church...the Outer Banks Bear Factory is donating 40% of it's gross sales from 1 to 7pm on Sunday, July 19 to Nags Head Church.

Gwyneth decided to go for a sheep instead of a bear, but it's all good. We had a great time...here are a few pics, and the video...

Funny story...Gwyneth's bedroom and a lot of her clothes and toys are covered with ladybugs. At the Bear Factory, Tricia picked out four different outfits for the sheep, spread them out on the floor, and put Gwyneth down to choose the outfit for her sheep...wouldn't you know it, she crawled straight to the ladybug outfit...we've brainwashed her!

Nate

Sorry, the OBBF does not yet have a website.

Wedding Day

This is the second of three weddings we're attending this summer...congrats to Chris and Cathy!








Nate

Evenings on the Beach

The weather was great last week...cool, dry breezes coming off the ocean...perfect for evening walks on the beach...
















Nate