Ski Copper!

Our friends Mel and Andy came to visit last weekend and we headed up to the Copper Mountain on Saturday for a couple days of skiing.  Mel's brother and sister-in-law live in Denver and the two couples were planning this ski weekend, and they were all gracious enough to invite us along.  They have a baby just a week older than Jack so we weren't the only ones weighed down with baby gear.

Brent isn't much of a skier, so he volunteered to wrangle our lil' critter while I skied.  What a good husband, am I right?  He moved up to Saint status when we weren't able to check into our condo until 4:00 that Saturday and had to check out at 10:00 the next morning, leaving lots of time for him to figure out what to do with Jack.  I probably only got 4-5 runs in each day, but it was enough for me.  I was pretty okay with Brent saying that he couldn't get Jack to stop crying around 11:30 on Sunday morning and that it was time to leave.  My gloves were too thin and I just wasn't prepared for such a cold morning.

Yes, please.

I had to pump in the car (always fun!) and get Jack and Brent settled in on Saturday, so I was behind getting up the mountain.  To get to the West Village where we skied most of the time on the green hills, I had to ride up the American Flyer by myself and sneak my way down on different paths.  It had been six years since I last skied and I just wanted a little hill to try first, but you had to go all the way up on the Flyer first.  There were several line changes until I found the nicest looking group to pair with and I finally sucked it up and hopped on.  

Geared up and ready to go on Sunday morning - now that we've found the car that was towed in the middle of the night.  

It's cold, folks!

"A helmet?  No, decline."  What dork wears a helmet skiing?  Um, everyone.  Note to self for next time.  I've never been offered a helmet as a standard in the ski rental package and it just never crossed my mind!

 

Cute!  And safe...in their helmets and all.

Hi, baby friend!  

The much anticipated return of "Baby on a Mantle".

 

Abercrombie & Fitch, you make a very sturdy shirt

This is the shirt Rob was wearing the night of his accident.  It wasn't given to us in a bag with the rest of his things that Sunday morning - (his belt, the jeans that were cut off him, and one boot).  Bob actually found it days later, at the scene of the accident, in a field.  There's a little hole on the right shoulder and a couple of faint blood stains, that I think I can still probably take care of.  Pretty amazing, really.

And so is Rob.  Tomorrow morning, he has an appointment with his orthopedic doctors, and if they lift his non-weight bearing status, we go straight back to Parkview for physical rehab. 

Thanks for all your continued support, and especially your prayers.  Rob, you're a miracle..... and your shirt held up pretty well too.   

Go Ahead Shelby.....

   .....you can shave now. It isn't that Rob couldn't have shaved before tonight, he just wasn't ready to. 

 And now to get rid of the stachio....

                                                           He's back!!!

For the record.

We had Jack's 4 month well-baby visit today (um, Happy V-Day, Jack!).  His stats are:

Weight - 13lb 9oz (17th percentile)
Height - 24 3/4 (36th percentile)
Head - 16 5/8 (42nd percentile)


There's probably not going to be a lot of smiling around here today or tomorrow while he's recovering from his shots, so here's a good one to tide us over!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day from one Heart Breaker to another!

The American Patient.....as opposed to the English Patient....okay, the Hickory Hill Hood Patient. 

  Since Lindsey is so busy working and taking care of our adorable and exceptional grandson, Jack, this will be a post from Mom   We just want to keep you all updated on Rob, who is recovering in a hospital bed, in our guest room.  (Lindsey's former bedroom - there's a wall of clouds behind him and lots of stuffed animals and some dolls)

Rob did come home from Fort Wayne via ambulance on January 30th, his 23rd birthday.  That same day, I delivered a birthday cake to the good folks at Parkview ICU.  It read:  " Happy 23rd Birthday Rob Pillers,  Thanks to God and Parkview."  One of the nurses on duty in the ICU just happened to be Andrea, who was his nurse on Sunday morning, December 11th.  Can you believe it?  Also, thanks to the nice people at the Kendallville Dairy Queen who gave Rob a complimentary ice cream cake for his birthday.

Bob and I are trying to be good nurses.  We learned how to flush his feeding tube, and how to give him his anticoagulant injections.  (I hate giving him the injections, so if Bob is home, he does it) Rob still doesn't have much of an appetite, although it is improving.   Milkshakes with some added protein powder are his current favorite. 

He has an appointment with his orthopedic doctors on February 20th, and hopefully, keep your fingers crossed, he will go from their office to the Parkview Rehab floor that same day.  Since he will have to travel to Fort Wayne in an ambulance for this appointment, it will be really swell if this all works out.  Please continue to pray for his complete recovery, and that we will be able to move forward with his physical rehabilitation.  Also, if you have time, he would appreciate visitors, so stop by......I'm pretty sure he's tired of our hovering.

Four Months.

Mr. Jack, how are you four months old already?  You are so much fun.  You are spunky and such a sweetie.  As you get stronger, I see glimpses of the rough and tumble guy I think you're becoming.  I'm excited to see how you'll change in the next several months but don't want you to get any bigger, either!  You're my favorite little guy.

Weight - I'm guessing around 13 pounds.  We'll have another official weight check next Tuesday.

Length - You're getting longer all the time!  Look at those long legs!  

Head Circumference - TBA at your 4-month well-baby check.

Clothing Size - You're in all size 3-6 month sleepers now and I have some 9 month sizes washed and ready to go, mainly because of your length.  You're starting to bust out of your size 1 diapers and we should probably move you into size 2 now.  You're still wearing your BGs when we're at home (and if they're clean), and we leave 3 snaps in the middle.

Hair - You lost some of that gorgeous hair between months three and four.  You've got a little bald patch on the back of your head now.  

Sleeping - You are sleeping through the night pretty consistently now (::knocks on wood::).  You go to bed around 8:30 - 9:00 and sleep until 5:30 or 6:00, then usually go back down again an hour later.  You take two short morning naps and a longer two or three hour nap in the afternoon.  

Eating - You eat 4-5 oz every two - three hours. You have about 14-15 oz of breast milk first from what I pumped the day before and then we finish the day with formula.  Our goal is to get you to around 30-35 oz a day if you seem interested...and I've never seen you turn down a bottle.  You are now exclusively bottle fed.  We are mulling around the idea of starting cereal because you are very interested in what we're eating.  We'll talk to the pediatrician about it next week and then maybe give it a try sometime this month.     

Movement - You are an active guy!  You're always trying to get down from our laps.  I'm not sure what your game plan is, but we suspect that when you can crawl you will be constantly on the move!  Dad put together your jumperoo and while you're interested, you unfortunately aren't heavy enough to touch the ground yet.  Waa.waa.waa.  I think once you can actually jump you'll like it more.  Hopefully.   

"Watch out, 5 month sticker...you'll never make it through the next photo shoot"  

Milestones - You now consistently roll from belly to back whenever we do tummy time.  You've gotten to your side while on your back, but no back to belly rolling yet.  You're SO close and I'm hoping it happens when we're home with you so we can be the first to see it.  You can support yourself with your arms while you're on your tummy for long periods of time.  You started reaching for and grabbing your toys between months three and four, and you have been squealing at us quite a bit for the last week or so.  You sit well with support, and you love to stand.  You started laughing at us the last few weeks, too.    

You met your permanent nanny this month and so far all is going very well!  You seem to have good days with her and she makes up fun games for you.

I almost forgot - you've been holding your own bottle the last several days!  Not every time, but you get at least one hand on it each time.  So independent!

Favorite toys/activities - You like "This Little Piggy" and the game when I flip the end of the burp cloth back and forth between your hands.  Hey, whatever it takes.  Dad discovered a great chant that sent you into your first laughs..."Sleep Sheep!  Sleep Sheep!  Sleep Sheep!"  You like it best when Dad and I say it in unison.  You pretty much think that anything Dad says is great, but Momma has to work a little harder at it.    

Your favorite books at "Moo, Baa, La-La-La" and "Barnyard Dance".  I try to mix others into your repertoire from time to time, but you're not interested.  It might have something to do with the great animal sounds in those books. 

Dislikes - Being still, burping (which you despise even more than you did last month), an empty bottle.

What we love - We love your sweet face and your smiles.  You've been talking up a storm and our conversations with you are the best we have all day.

"Mom, have you seen these before?  I have feet!"

What we don't love - Fussy times, having to struggle with your very strong little body to burp you, and cold winter days when we can't get out for a walk.

What we're looking forward to - Checking on all your stats at your appointment next month, starting solids at some point, and the birth of another friend, LP Hetrick!  

2011 In Review

At the start of every year, I review my Life List and check off what I accomplished in the previous year.  I was not surprised to find that I didn't complete many things this year, and that's because I spent every day of this year, except for the first five, working on one very important item:

4. Have children  Jack, 10/5/2011 :)


Phew, that one was pretty all encompassing.  And I'm probably not going to get to too much more on this list for about 20 more years...and that's okay with me.  :)  Quality over quantity, right?

We did visit two more Presidential libraries this year on one of my eight trips back and forth from Indiana to Denver - Eisenhower and Truman, which are conveniently located right off I-70.  Yeah, eight trips last year - and Brent had a few more than that.

84. Visit all the Presidential libraries   (LBJ, Clinton, Eisenhower, Truman down, 9 more to go)

I refuse to make any proclamations or set any goals this year, other than to say I want to be a good mom and find new fun things to do with my little critter as he continues to grow and learn.  I've identified a few other things I'd like to do, including reading the books on this list, Top 30 Books to Read Before You're 30.

As is tradition, here is our 2011 in review:

January found us ringing in the New Year at our house with a few friends and preparing for Brent's move to Denver later in the month.  We spent the MLK holiday weekend in Denver, house-hunting, where we selected a six month apartment lease since we weren't sure when I would be moving.  12 hours after signing our short-term apartment lease and landing back in Indianapolis, we discovered that I was miraculously, finally, and wonderfully pregnant.

We started February in limbo - Brent in Denver and I still at home.  I began (quickly) searching for jobs in Denver and prepping the house to go on the market.  On Valentine's Day, our home became an active listing on the MLS and we also left on a relaxing vacation to Cancun with our friends Christi and Jay.  Bonnie and I had weekly dates with Rachel and Charlie to help pass our evenings.

I made trip #2 of the year to Denver in March for a job interview.  We were able to spend five days together which was great!  At the end of March, Brent flew into Chicago where Lana, Adam and I met him to see Purdue play in the NCAA tournament at the United Center.

April brought a lot more transition to my life, as my last day at DFAS was April 7th and I said goodbye to many wonderful co-workers and good friends.  We packed up two carloads of my things and spent two days driving to our new home in Mile High City - trip #3.  We arrived on Saturday night and I started my new job on Monday morning, 16 weeks pregnant.  We celebrated Easter in our little apartment - where we had one recliner and boxes as end tables and nightstands.  (We obviously were counting on selling our house quickly and didn't want to bite the bullet and invest in new furniture.  It's a time I refer to as our Camping Days.)

Thanks for the goodies, Grandma.

I spent the first week of May in Washington DC for work, and arrived at Dulles around the same time President Obama was announcing the death of Osama Bin Laden to our nation.  It was a pretty memorable week to be in the nation's capital.  At the end of the week I flew home to Indy, where I met Brent at the airport and we carbed up that evening with Justin and Rachel in preparation for the Festival 500 Mini Marathon.  I walked with Mom and Christi, and my 20 week old Lima Bean.  We returned home over Memorial Day (trip #5, second in the month) to pack up our home, which we thought we had sold.  Even though the deal fell through it was nice to see our friends and family during my birthday weekend.  May was busy, as we also entertained our first visitors (Lana and Justin) and took in the U2 concert at Invesco.

June found us frantically searching for houses to either rent or buy since our apartment lease was up in July, and I was already six months pregnant.  We returned to our honeymoon destination, Kauai, at the beginning of the month to use our timeshare week in paradise.  I placed in my age group for the first (and probably only) time ever at the Hanoi to Hanalei  5k race.  Who says that lack of competition isn't a satisfying way to win a race?

We celebrated the 4th of July by watching eight simultaneous sets of fireworks all over the Denver metro area from a quiet perch atop South Table mountain, which was a short climb from our apartment door.  I baked a Star-Spangled Apple Pie that I still dream about and we spent our last few weeks in the apartment before moving on the 15th.  We flew home to Indianapolis (trip #6) for two wonderful baby showers. 

(And a third, more informal, shower) 

I started slowing down in August.  We celebrated the wedding weekend of our friends Mel and Andy from afar after deciding that another flight at 34 weeks was just too much.  I started tidying up work matters, since I would be full term at the beginning of September and the baby might come at any time!  Oh how I chuckle at that now...

September 

We finally met our little Lima Bean on October 5th at 41 weeks, 1 day.  A boy!  Of course, we knew it was a boy all along.  We enjoyed our sweet Jack Robert the rest of the month.  Both sets of grandparents met Jack.

Mel visited in November, as well as Christi and Carrie the weekend before Thanksgiving.  I flew home with the girls and stayed with my family for the holiday.  Jack met many relatives and friends.  November was such a great month and will be getting its own post soon!

The best flying helpers ever, holding my coffee and my baby while I get situated.  

We celebrated Baby Hetrick at his/her baby shower and then Jack and I made it home on December 4th - just in time to celebrate Jack's 2 month birthday the next day with his monthly photo shoot.  A phone call on the morning of Sunday the 11th rocked our world...it was our Pearl Harbor.  We didn't really even have time to get everything unpacked before we loaded up all our gear and boarded a flight home again.  You know all about the rest.  On December 25th, we experienced a true Christmas miracle.  Rob, and my family, have felt like George Bailey ever since.

2011 was quite a year!  It was definitely a tough year - one that will put some hair on your chest.  But it was also the best in many ways.  We're looking forward to a calmer 2012!