Merry Christmas

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. We spent Christmas in Ohio with Denise M's family. Nicholas was a great traveler. We were able to spend time with many family and friends.Santa even knew to bring Nicholas's gifts to Grandma and Papa's house. Nicholas cleaned house as he got a lot of Christmas gifts and we celebrated his first birthday with his Mancuso cousins Christmas night, which resulted in even more toys and gifts. Aunt Diana made Nicholas his first birthday cake which Nicholas pretty well demolished. He didn't eat too much of it, he was instead enamored by the texture of the frosting.

On Monday following Christmas, Nicholas was seen at the preemie follow-up clinic at Rainbow. They did a developmental exam and a the neonatologist did a physical exam. They were impressed by how well Nicholas is doing. They said he doesn't even look like a preemie. He is ahead of other 9 month olds (corrected age) in his vocal skills but a little behind in his gross motor skills as he is not crawling yet. They weren't too worried about that as not all kids reach milestones at the same time. After our appointment, we went up to the NICU and visited with some of the nurses that took care of Nicholas. It was great seeing them. We attached a picture of Nicholas with one of his nurses and the case manager for the NICU. Unfortunately, we snapped the photo a little late as Nicholas had just fallen asleep when we took it.

We look forward to a quiet New Years Eve celebration as a family and an exceptional 2011. We wish you all a Happy New Year. Be safe with however you choose to celebrate!

Love,
Denise, Denise and Nicholas

I finally met the guy they call Santa

Today, Nicholas saw Santa for the first time. We attempted to visit Santa last week but according to Mommy M., Santa was busy feeding his reindeer. We waited about an hour and gave up. I'm not sure Santa lived up to the hype we had created with Nicholas, but, he seemed to be intrigued by the white beard. Nicholas kept looking at him trying to figure him out. We've noticed Nicholas is very thoughtful in everything he does. He'll look a new person up and down and try to figure them out before giving a smile or carrying on a conversation. We've included a couple of pictures of Nicholas by our Christmas Tree that were taken last week and the rest of the pictures are from today.

We hope you are all ready for the Christmas, as it's a mere week away. We look forward to traveling to Ohio to see family and friends for Christmas. While getting ready to celebrate, don't loose touch of the reason for the season!

Merry Christmas!
Denise, Denise and Nicholas

Christmas Pictures

We had pictures of Nicholas taken a couple of weeks ago and wanted to share a few with all of you.

You mean there really is a Santa....

How many more of these flashes can I expect?

I can be sweet, really!

Happy Thanksgiving

Nicholas's first Thanksgiving was spent with his Rasmussen cousins. He had a great time and enjoyed his first bite of turkey (pictured). Everyone was more than willing to help out with caring for Nicholas; so helpful that he didn't get a great nap in as everyone was "checking on him," cousins are so helpful :)! We've included some pictures of our trip. Molly the dog wasn't all too sure about Nicholas's intentions but enjoyed hanging out by his high chair around meal time.

We had a pretty healthy November. Nicholas got his second flu shot (you have to get two if it's your first year) and is getting monthly Synagis shots. Synagis helps prevent major complications of RSV, a respiratory virus.

He is up to 18 pounds and is rolling and starting to sit by himself. He loves to stand. We make his baby food. It's actually pretty tasty and easy to do. No wonder why he's gaining so well.

We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. We'll try to post more in December.

Denise, Denise & Nicholas

Happy Halloween

Nicholas has recovered from his pneumonia and double ear infection but continues to battle a bit of a stuffy nose; that time of year. He still gets an occasional nebulizer treatment. As you can see, he's so used to it he's giving them to himself. Last week at the Pediatrician, he weighted in at 16lbs 10 ounces. He's now in 6-12 month clothes. We bought some of the 12 month clothes awhile ago thinking it would be forever until he fit into them. Wow, how kids grow. He is moving through the developmental milestones, which is great. He sits with little support and now rolls from his stomach to back. We're having a tough time getting his tummy time in as he instantly rolls onto his back.

As you can see, Nicholas's first costume was a pumpkin. He didn't seem to thrilled with our choice in costumes but luckily, he can't express his opinion just yet :)! We had about 60 kids come for trick-or-treating. Nicholas helped hand out candy in his costume. He seemed to enjoy seeing all the kids in their costumes.

We were able to see the Badgers beat the Hawkeyes last weekend. What a game! Nicholas enjoyed seeing his great aunt Judy and uncle Dave. It was his first over night trip to a house other than his own, and he did great. He stayed at home for the game with some great babysitters (a PICU nurse and a nursing student) while the Moms went to the game. It was nice knowing he was in great hands. Nana and Papa Rasmussen visited this weekend along with Great Grandma Ivalou and Great Aunt Ann. Nicholas loved the extra attention and not having to take all his naps in his crib. He looks forward to seeing Grandma and Papa Mancuso next weekend. Everyone is getting their visits in before the first snow fall.

We hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween!

Denise, Denise, and Nicholas

More than a cold

Well, turns out Nicholas had a bit more than a cold. His cold got worse and he wasn't drinking his bottles well, so, we decided to take him in to see his pediatrician. Turns out he had a double ear infection and some suspicious spots on his right lung (they took a chest x-ray given the way his lungs sounded), so, they put him on a high dose of a broad spectrum antibiotic and some albuterol aerosals to help clear up both the lungs and ears. He started his antibiotics on Thursday and seems to be feeling much better.

Ir was in the mid 80's this weekend and the fall colors are beautiful. We used the weather as an opportunito get some fall pictures of Nicholas to share with all of you.

First Cold

Nicholas is doing well, overall. He saw his pediatrician last week and is 16 pounds and 26.5 inches long. He is eating ok and we even tried a sippy cup. He's interested in it but chews on it rather than sucking. He'll learn soon enough. He saw ophthalmology last Tuesday and Nicholas has astigmatisms in both eyes. Babies eyes change a lot in the first year to year and a half, so, they want to see us back in a year to see how things look then. While astigmatisms won't go away and are most likely hereditary, we'll be able to tell if Nicholas needs glasses at that point. They had to dilate his eyes, hence, the sunglasses.

Nicholas started coughing on Wednesday and it has turned into a full cold. He's being a trouper and we hope it will resolve soon. Tis the season, I guess. He will get a flu shot once his cold has cleared up. Because he has never had the flu, he'll get two doses, one followed by another a month later. Nicholas will also get synagis, which helps prevent or lessen the effects of RSV. RSV is something we definitely want to avoid given Nicholas's sensitive lungs. While he's off the oxygen, he still has preemie lungs, so, we'll try to prevent him from getting sick as much as we can. We see a lot of movie nights at home during the winter season.

Nicholas loves to read. There are a couple of pictures of him looking at his book and the Wicked Playbill. Wicked was in town and we snuck out to see the show. What a great musical. We highly recommend seeing it if you have a chance.

Take Care!
Denise, Denise and Nicholas

Nicholas's Party and More

Attached are some pictures of the party we had as a thank you to all our family and friends for their help after Nicholas's early arrival. We had a great time and have many more pictures to share at some point.

Nicholas saw his pulmonologist last week. He is now 15 pounds 7 ounces and 26 inches long. His lungs sound good, so, they are going to see us on an as needed basis. He sees his pediatrician and pediatric ophthalmologist the last week in September.
He continues to eat and sleep well. He's taking rice cereal and either apples or prunes once a day. He's not a great pooper, hence, the prunes. He seems to like them.

We went to Des Moines over Labor Day and saw some friends. We've included some pictures of our visits there. Nicholas is already a lady's man, trying to sneak a kiss from little Anna. He enjoyed seeing all his little friends - Landon, Jack, Lauren, Max, Anna, Jake and Emily.

We hope you're enjoying the colors of Autumn.

Denise, Denise, and Nicholas